A/N: Hi all, I've joined the International Wizarding School Championship writing competition, and this story is my fifth entry. To readers of my Harry/Draco series, THIS IS PART OF THAT UNIVERSE (but as always, can be read alone)! ENJOY! To orient you in the timeline, this takes places in August 2004, two weeks after Ron's Adjudication, 1 day before Fallout, and seven months before Of Owls and Cats and New Beginnings. Remember to check my Author Profile for a complete list of the series in chronological order.

IWSC Competition Information:

Story Title/Link: Untapped Power

School and Theme: Beauxbatons, The Three Broomsticks (Look at drama and gossip within the wizarding world)

Special Rule: [Colour] Purple (used the meaning - Power)

Main Prompt: [Genre] Romance

Additional Prompts: [Character] Lavender Brown, [Word] Revenge

Year: 6

Wordcount: 3271

A/N: This story is canon through the end of book seven, but ignores the epilogue and diverges into an alternate universe at that time where Harry and Draco are in an established relationship.

Untapped Power

"Draco, darling, is there something you wanted to tell me?"

Draco pulled himself from his inner musings and looked up at his mother, sitting across from him at the table where they ate their morning meal in the Manor's breakfast parlour. She'd waited until he'd stopped chewing before she'd asked her question, removing any excuse for him to hesitate before giving an answer. He wanted to shift uncomfortably in his chair, but years of being taught how to hide his emotions and thoughts—taught by the woman in front of him, in fact—kept him still and his face carefully controlled.

"Tell you, Mother? I tell you about work, my friends, my projects, daily. I'm not sure what else you might be missing."

His mother simply raised her perfectly shaped eyebrow and waited.

Draco contained a sigh and instead took a slow sip of his tea. She knew. He'd wanted to wait just a short time longer before discussing this with her, and he'd hoped he'd not be doing it alone. But with Harry not yet released from St Mungo's, bringing him here to also endure this conversation was not a possibility.

"I must assume you've heard some gossip or whatnot from some source. Perhaps you could share?"

The side of Narcissa's mouth twitched, and Draco could tell his mother was pleased that he'd been able to turn the conversation back on her with the term gossip, as though whatever it was wasn't worth acknowledging. She gave a small nod. "There has been word that you've been keeping intimate company with Harry Potter."

Draco raised an eyebrow in the same manner as his mother's and smiled. "Mother, you know that Harry and I became friendly last year while caring for Teddy during Aunt Andromeda's illness. You encouraged it, actually. Are you saying there's talk about something more?"

She put her teacup down, and Draco realised she wasn't going to play the game any longer. "Son. You know that I am quite fond of Harry and Teddy, and I encouraged you to become friendly as you were both working closely and it would make things easier, especially on Teddy and Andromeda. I admit that I did not expect you to become friends, but the fact that you did pleases me. However, I think we both know that this is not what I was referring to."

Draco nodded. This was it. "Of course." He paused and took a deep breath, then continued. "Mother, Harry and I have been in a romantic relationship for approximately six months. I only realised recently that it was becoming serious, and I'd planned to talk to you about it soon; but then, as you know, he was injured at work, and I've been hoping to wait until he was well." He took a bite of a strawberry from his plate and Narcissa waited, no sign of any reaction upon her face. He wiped his mouth and continued. "May I ask where you heard this? We've been ridiculously discreet, given who he is, who I am, and how the press will react."

Narcissa nodded in approval. "Yes, the press. That's actually why I brought this up at all. Darling, I've known about you and Harry for months. It'd be hard not to, living in the Manor and seeing how few nights you've spent here recently. I was content to let you tell me in your own time; however, it appears we no longer have that luxury."

Panic flooded through him. He wasn't sure what she was referring to, but dread at Harry's reaction squelched his remaining appetite. His lover notoriously avoided attention, and if this went badly—

"Draco! Pay attention," Narcissa said with a raised voice, obviously irritated at having to resort to such measures. "My connection at the Prophet has discovered that Rita Skeeter learned about your relationship late last night. She plans a large front-page exposé for tomorrow's edition, but at the moment, she's basing it on speculation and rumours." She gave him a level stare. "You know how to handle this, and I expect that you'll do so immediately."

Draco sat back, plans running through his head. Yes, he knew what he had to do, and the most direct path was going to be the most difficult.

"Right. Thank you, Mother. I need to discuss this with Harry and get his consent, then I will take the appropriate measures. Is your contact available if we need them?"

"Unfortunately not, dear." Narcissa sighed. "Our protection does not extend as far as it once did. He's willing to pass along information, but he's unable to take any actions on our behalf."

"Of course," Draco said with a sigh. That could make the situation more difficult if things didn't work out as he wanted, but he'd have to cope.

Narcissa stood, but she hesitated just a moment before turning to leave. "I'm happy for you, darling, and if you can do this correctly and leverage the power he holds, this will not only turn out well for you both, but it has the potential to help you recover the Malfoy name in some measure."

"Mother," Draco said quietly, restraining himself from releasing the irritation he was feeling. "This is not about my name."

"Of course it's not, darling, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't at least be a consideration," she said with a small smile, then left the room.

Draco took a deep breath and left the table to attend to his own affairs. If he was going to convince Harry to do what he had planned, he'd better prepare.

Draco walked through the halls of St Mungo's Hospital on his way to visit Harry, attracting no attention from passing Healers or staff because they were so accustomed to seeing him. He'd worked in the St Mungo's Potions Lab for over a year as a Master Brewer and was beginning to make a name for himself in those circles. When his aunt had spent nearly six weeks in residence at the hospital during her breast cancer treatments, this had allowed Draco to easily visit her daily, as it did now while Harry was recovering.

He and Harry had spent the better part of the three months of her treatments and recovery passing Teddy back and forth between them, juggling their careers and caring for the rambunctious five-year-old. During those months, they'd finally learned how to talk to each other, and eventually, they'd become friends. Discovering their mutual attraction had amazed them both, and the ensuing relationship had been surprisingly effortless. In order to keep it that way, they'd not told anyone about it but their closest friends.

Harry nearly dying on an Auror mission two weeks prior had clearly been the turning point in their secrecy. The memory still twisted his stomach. Weasley—shite, he corrected himself, Ronald—had made the decision to bring Draco to Harry's side and exposed their secret to the entire Weasley family, as well as to the Healers present and half the Aurors who'd been nearby. It was no wonder it had finally made it to Skeeter. He was only surprised it had taken this long to do so.

He approached Harry's room and nodded to the Auror trainee posted outside the door for the occupant's protection. The young woman looked at him with barely-covered disdain, then turned back to watching the hall. Draco ignored the slight since it wasn't an uncommon response, and honestly, he knew he'd earned it. He'd been doing his best in the five years since the war to be a new person, but he could only change himself. It wasn't anyone else's responsibility to forgive him, and he accepted that.

That fact was part of what made the current situation they needed to deal with so volatile. The news was about to break that wizarding Britain's Chosen One was dating Draco Malfoy, an ex-Death Eater. His mother was right that they needed to pre-empt this and use every advantage they had. He and his mother still had a few "friends" in strategically useful positions, and they had the knowledge and experience necessary to manipulate the situation to achieve the best possible outcome, but they had nowhere near the power they once had to ensure its success.

Harry, though, did. If only Draco could convince him to use it. He opened the door and prepared himself for the task ahead.

Hermione Granger-Weasley sat next to her best friend in his hospital room, attempting to distract him with a game of Exploding Snap. It wasn't going well, as Harry was never one to be comfortably spending his time in idleness. He was antsy and wanted to move. Unfortunately, he still had several days of recovery from the curse that had struck him down so grievously and nearly killed him, and Hermione was on the Healers' side in this fight.

She looked up as the door opened and smiled as the striking, meticulously-dressed blond strode confidently into the room. His eyes caught and held her friend's, and she knew she was already forgotten. She sat back and watched as Harry's demeanour immediately changed. The restless, fidgety behaviour immediately settled down and a peacefulness she'd rarely seen in her best friend settled upon him. The men greeted each other with casual ease, and Draco leaned over and gently brushed a hand through the messy hair.

Hermione felt her heart swell at the sight of the care being exchanged between the two and knew that they were holding back due to her presence. They were still unused to being together in front of anyone, and she decided to give them some privacy. Standing, she began to make her excuses to leave.

"Wait," Draco began, catching her attention. "I need to talk to Harry about something, and I think we could use your input."

Hermione felt the surprise show on her face but immediately was intrigued as she sat back down. She and Draco had become somewhat friendly, but this was the first time he'd really acknowledged that she had something to offer beyond that of being Harry's friend.

Draco gave her a nod of what she assumed was thanks, then turned his attention back to Harry. "We have a situation, and you're not going to like it."

She watched Harry tense, and she put a hand on his shoulder in support. He relaxed slightly under her touch, but she could feel his wariness.

"Okay," he answered. "Go on. What's happened?"

"Mother got word this morning that Rita Skeeter is aware of our relationship. She's digging for any information she can find, and she plans to publish an article to expose us tomorrow on the front page of the Prophet."

Harry pulled away and tried to get to his feet, presumably to pace. Both Draco and Hermione pushed him back down gently.

"Harry, calm down," Hermione chided him softly. "You're not completely healed and should stay off your feet as much as possible—you know that. Stalking around the room will not help the situation." She noticed the look of gratitude in Draco's eye, but also a glint of something that told her he wasn't finished.

"Thank you, Hermione," Draco continued, looking at Harry still. "I have a plan, but it's likely to piss you off."

Harry growled, "Of course it'll piss me off; it has to do with that fucking rag of a paper." He made himself take a calming breath. "But go ahead. What is it?"

"We're going to beat her to it. We're going to release the information ourselves, in the way we want it released, and we're going to do it first."

Harry narrowed his eyes, obviously sceptical. "But the public doesn't care about the truth. Skeeter's article will be full of ridiculous suppositions, and it'll be more titillating. The public will ignore ours in favour of her rubbish theories."

"Ah," Draco said with a smirk. "But we'll have pictures."

"Pictures." Harry flopped backwards onto the bed. "You want to do a damned photoshoot. Today."

Hermione considered the angles and agreed with Draco. She also realised why he'd requested she stay, as Harry was likely to listen to her advice. The man was really very clever.

"It's brilliant, Harry," she said quietly. He shot her a look, so she continued. "We'll do the pictures here in the hospital room. Everyone knows you were injured in the line of duty, and we'll show Draco here caring for you in your time of need. Ron and I will give a statement about how distraught he was when you were brought in, and how he's been here every day, by your side."

She glanced at Draco, who appeared to be somewhat uncomfortable at the praise. Sometimes she couldn't believe this was the same boy who used to taunt them all so ruthlessly, but she'd come to know him better over the last few months and recognised the man into which he'd been working to form himself. The affection he had for Harry was real, as was Harry's for him, and they made each other happy.

Harry seemed to be considering. "I see where you're going, but I still don't see how we'll get this to work. I refuse to talk to Skeeter, and we can't work through The Quibbler, since it will only run side-by-side, instead of replacing Skeeter's.

Hermione thought that over, then realised she had the answer. She jumped up in excitement, making her best friend roll his eyes and chuckle. "Lavender Brown."

Harry cocked an eyebrow in confusion, but Draco seemed to know where she was going with it and nodded with a small smile.

Hermione grinned, the idea sounding even better the more she thought about it. "Lavender has been working as a fashion columnist for the Prophet for the last two years. She's actually very good at it, and she's been gaining popularity. We'll have her do the article and submit it, and with an actual interview from you and pictures, it'll outdo Skeeter's article easily."

Draco chuckled and nudged Harry. "Skeeter will be irate. Sounds like a sweet bit of revenge to me, don't you think?"

Hermione watched as the two heads—one the lightest blond, the other nearly black—bowed together, discussing the situation quietly. Finally, Harry spoke, sounding resigned.

"Fine, I'll do it. But what's to stop Skeeter from getting wind of this and publishing it sooner, or taking it to Witch Weekly or something?"

Draco appeared to be prepared for this question and bracing himself for a response. "You."

"Huh?" Harry asked, perplexed.

"Harry, you're a very powerful man, whether you like to admit it or not, and people don't like to cross you." Harry bristled, but Draco continued. "You're going to take advantage of that today. You need to talk to the editor at the Prophet. Tell him what you're planning and demand that he hold space for Lavender's interview so that he doesn't let Skeeter outmanoeuvre you. Then, Hermione is going to reach out to the other likely sources on your behalf and require that they refrain from printing anything about you without your response, or else you'll be very unhappy with them. You'll just be unavailable for the response if any do contact you." He paused. "Harry, no one wants to be on the bad side of the Man Who Vanquished."

Hermione touched her friend's hand, noticing the old scars etched into the side. I must not tell lies. She ran her finger across it and sighed. "Look, I know this sucks, but Draco's right—this is the best way. If you two are going to have a chance together without constant hounding from the press, then you're going to have to work with them. This is the first step. And he's also right that you have the power in this situation. You are who you are, there's no changing that, so you need to take the good and use it instead of just accepting the bad."

He crossed his arms and glared at the wall, then sighed. "All right. What do I have to do?"

Draco watched Lavender Brown—scarred from werewolf wounds in the final battle, but as confident as ever—move expertly around the room with the photographer, setting up shots that would catch Harry and Draco at their best. He could admit that she was skilled at what she was doing, and was pleased Hermione had thought to bring her in.

She'd already interviewed them, asking about how they'd become friends and overcome their past animosity and gently manoeuvring them into discussing their romantic relationship and its current status. Yes, their families knew. Yes, they were in love and were exclusive. No, they had no plans to move in together or do anything more serious for the time being. Yes, they were happy.

One question had caught him off-guard, but Harry answered easily and confidently, and Draco felt his chest tighten.

"Harry, what do you want to say to people who may feel betrayed or angry that you would allow yourself to be with someone with Draco's history?"

Harry had squeezed Draco's hand and looked Lavender in the eye. "We each have pasts that we're not proud of in some way. Can we afford, as a society, to pigeonhole someone into only ever being whom they were as a child? Do we have the luxury to prevent people from changing, to become better than they were, to grow? Each of us has things we regret. Draco has acknowledged his and has spent the past five years doing what he can to become a better man. I admire him greatly, and only hope that I can endeavour to earn the love he's bestowed upon me."

Then he'd turned, laying a hand on Draco's cheek and gently kissing him, letting the camera capture the intimate moment. "I love you."

Draco couldn't help but let a smile cross his face, though he knew in the back of his head that the picture would be gracing the front page of the Daily Prophet the following day and would likely be reused for months each time a new article was released about them. He laid his forehead onto Harry's and chuckled. "Take that, Skeeter," he mumbled.

Harry had thrown back his head and given a loud bark of laughter, the camera again flashing. "I suppose you're right. Revenge can be sweet."

Draco thought through that final question as he sat with Harry and the two had their photographs taken in different places and positions. Harry had complained about having to do this in pyjamas, but Draco had to admit that it worked well, reminding the readers that he was still recovering, and Draco was caring for him. He couldn't have asked for a better angle to approach the article.

Lavender crossed to him as she finished and nodded. "I have to admit that I was a bit shocked by this, Malfoy, but you both look happy together, not to mention amazingly attractive. So thank you for the opportunity."

Draco gave her a matching nod, then considered. "Are you worried about Skeeter? She still has a lot of contacts and influence, especially in your industry. Is she going to make trouble for you?"

She shrugged. "Harry has already promised me he'd step in. I never thought I'd see him use his influence as actively as he has today, but I'm glad to see he's not letting it go entirely to waste anymore." She grinned. "It seems he just needed a Slytherin at his side, huh?"

Draco laughed and looked over at Harry, sitting on the hospital bed and making small talk with the photographer. "It appears so."

A/N: This story is part of a series: That's Life Together. Links to the other stories in the series IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER and more information can be found on my Author Profile. Next in Series: Fallout.