Everything is J.K. Rowlings. I only claim the plot. Everything else is hers, all the characters and the magic, all of it. Please let me know what you think though, I encourage feedback of all kinds, just be nice about it!

So this Chapter is really long, longer than I planned on writing so just bear with it.

Also, I wanted to point out that I in no way support or condone alcoholism or any of the other methods that some of the characters will seek out. I just know the reality of it. Being in the military myself I have seen people struggling with PTSD and that is what these teenagers are suffering with. I'll try not to get too angsty with it (mostly because I don't feel like that is my strong suit when it comes to writing) but I want to try and write it as real as I can. So if that isn't your cup of tea and you prefer fluffy happiness, trust me I prefer that too, then I don't know what to tell you but it isn't the reality. If it is any consolation, I do plan on a happy ending, so there is that, but really we will have to see how that goes because 'Happy Endings' aren't overly realistic either. But you have to go through the dark before you get to the light. So that said, I hope you all continue to read and enjoy!

Chapter Ten

Blinking blearily, Harry raised his head squinting against the bright light. Next time he would have to remember to close his curtains before bed. He groaned, his mouth was dry and he had a headache. The whiskey might have fixed him last night but it wasn't doing shit this morning. Not that he minded, Harry almost welcomed the slight annoyance of a headache, it was a reminder that things were far from better despite the new accommodations. It was a reminder that he didn't deserve a happy annoyance free morning when his loved ones weren't there to join him.

"Zabkey!"

"Yes Master."

"Please, just Harry, Zabkey. Do you know if there is any headache reliever potion or hangover cures in this place?"

"Yes Mast-Harry. Zabkey will get those for you."

"Great, and do you think you can just have a stock of it in here for me?" Harry asked, feeling his face heat up in shame and avoided the elf's unassuming gaze.

"Yes Harry Master. Zabkey can stock your cabinets with the potions."

"Great. Can you go do that now? Oh and check and see if my guests Draco and Tracey are in need of some potions as well."

The elf disappeared and was hardly gone for less than ten minutes before he had returned with bottles in his arms. Handing Harry one, the elf put the rest in the drawer beside his bed.

"Is there anything else that Zabkey can help Harry Master with?"

Tossing the potion back, Harry swallowed hard against the bitter liquid. "Oh...can you make sure the liquor cabinet in the kitchen remains...um...well stocked…?" Again the wizard couldn't bear to look at the elf when he made his request. The elf didn't seem to notice his masters' shame.

"Of course Harry Master. Zabkey will tell Kilky right away. Does Master request anything else from Zabkey?"

"No, no that's it Zabkey thank you. I appreciate all your help." Zabkey nodded happily and disappeared.

Scrubbing at his face to help rouse himself to alertness, Harry dragged his feet into the bathroom. Splashing his face with cold water brought him to the present fully and slowly he began brushing his teeth to get rid of the dry mouth sensation. Lopsy had done a good job on fixing his hair the night before. It didn't look so rough and while it still stuck up like the wild mess it had always been it was clear of his face and off his neck.

Tossing on some jeans and another t-shirt, Harry exited the room and began walking downstairs running into Daphne at the top of the staircase. "Morning, Daphne."

"Morning, Harry," she replied. "Nice haircut."

Harry's hand immediately went to his newly shortened locks. "Err thanks…" he debated an adding on an 'Oh thanks, I did it myself' or a 'Yeah it wasn't planned' but felt that both responses would fall short and would require a further explanation that he didn't want to give. Her words ran through his head once more causing Harry to almost miss a step when he realized something. "You called me Harry."

"It's what you asked to be called. I can go back to Potter if you want."

"No, no, Harry is just fine. But why?"

"Well, I thought about what you said last night. And this is our chance of starting over and addressing one another by last names isn't the way to mend bridges. In addition to that, we never really held a conversation back at school anyway and so we don't really have the history that others in this house have with you. So why ruin an almost blank slate?"

"I guess you're right. Thank you."

Daphne gave a delicate nod before continuing, they had reached the second floor by now. "Have a good sleep?"

"Just fine," he lied smoothly, no reason to tarnish the blank slate. "You?"

"Splendid," was her response with a similar smoothness.

The two descend the rest of the stairs in comfortable silence but Harry felt slightly lighter than he had before he left his room. Maybe his plans weren't going to be a total lost cause. Daphne seemed receptive at least and maybe that meant her sister was too. Tracey hadn't been horrible to him; and with Tracey and Astoria he had almost no history with as well. So maybe there was some hope of mending bridges. And Goyle hadn't spoken outside of the one question he asked the day before, so Harry wasn't sure where he stood with the former bully.

Entering the dining room, Harry and Daphne took their seats. Everyone else was entering at the same time as them and so quietly they watched as Kilky and Jodkey brought out the breakfast foods. It was scrambled eggs with cheese, sausage links, bacon strips, toast, a pitcher of orange juice, two pitchers of milk, a selection of tea and a pot of coffee, and a small stack of pancakes next to a rather large stack of chocolate chip pancakes.

"Missus Daphne," Kilky said in a loud whisper, the tiny elf stood next to Daphne's chair on Harry's side and was standing on its tiptoes to get closer to the blonde witch.

"Yes, Kilky?" she asked in a soft voice, leaning down to be closer to the elf, her blonde hair falling like a curtain between herself and the elf before she tucked the loose strands behind her ear.

"Master told Kilky that you was a vegan, Missus. Kilky made special pancakes for Missus and Kilky has special milk for Missus too. The special milk is in the pink pitcher Missus. If Missus will be sitting here every day then Kilky can have your foods placed closer to your plates, Missus."

"Thank you so much, Kilky, your thoughtfulness is much appreciated. I'll be sure to sit here everyday to make it easier on you and I'm sure the milk and pancakes are delicious," the woman replied kindly. The house elf smiled widely at the praise and gave a small curtsy before scurrying back to the kitchen. Bringing the special plate of pancakes and milk pitcher closer to herself, Daphne glanced at Harry who was purposefully not looking at her by pouring himself a large cup of coffee. It wasn't until Daphne had fixed her area by placing a single pancake on her plate, pouring herself the 'special milk' and the fixing herself a cup of loose leaf Earl Grey tea that she finally spoke to Harry who still hadn't looked at her.

"Thank you Harry, it was really thoughtful of you to speak with Kilky on my behalf. I appreciate your efforts to make me more comfortable."

"It was really no effort at all. This is your home now too, I want it to feel like one."

There was a faint rose colored tint that colored Daphne's cheeks as he spoke but she said nothing more on the topic and took a sip from her 'special' milk. "Mmm...soy milk. Would you like to try some?" She offered.

Surprised at the offer but curious just the same Harry gave a nod and nervously took her glass and took a small sip. It wasn't what he was expecting but after a moment he found that he didn't mind the taste at all. It was almost sweeter than the milk he had in his glass now. "It's really good actually. Might have to start drinking it myself, if you don't mind sharing it."

"Not at all, I would be happy to."

"Who knew that by making the cook aware I'd be getting a taste for vegan life too, especially since now you are going to be permanently in the seat beside me."

Daphne raised a delicate eyebrow and quirked her head. "It is interesting the direction life takes us by a simple decision. But of course, if you don't wish me to sit beside you I could always-"

"No, no it's fine. I'm glad you're sitting beside me. I mean not glad glad but you know….it... pleases... me?"

Daphne's mouth twitched upward as she watched Harry floundering and decided to be merciful by saying, "It pleases me too." She then turned her attention away and began cutting up her pancake into small, bite sized pieces.

Face flushing from his idiocy, Harry turned to his own plate. Luckily, he managed to continue avoiding the looks of the others at the table by the mail arriving. Jodkey scurried into the room with his hands full of letters. "Master, you has been having some letters this morning." Harry held out his hand and took the handful of letters. "Mister Draco has been receiving some letters too," Jodkey continued as he walked around the table to where Draco sat three seats down on Harry's left side. Draco accepted his two letters with a stiff nod to the elf who happily continued out of the room after Harry told him there wasn't anything else.

Glancing at his letters, Harry pushed his untouched -minus the half eaten strip of bacon and the few bites of the toast- plate away from in front of him and took another swig of coffee before laying them out to examine. There was a letter from McGonagall, Andromeda, Hermione, Narcissa, and Kingsley.

"Who are they from, Potter?" Pansy asked.

"What's it to you, Pansy. It's his bloody mail. 'Sides its probably just a bunch of fan mail and love letters," Blaise retorted, playing with a piece of bacon.

"Well if it is from people of importance then he will need our help to respond. That is one of the reasons why we are here isn't it? It's part of our servitude to help Potter become proper," the witch sneered.

"Well for your information, I will probably need your help in responding to two of these at least, the ones from Kingsley and Draco's mother." Harry's eyes flickered over to the blonde wizard who had snapped his head up and stared at Harry with an intense gaze. His own two letters were opened and scanned through.

"And let me guess, the other three are your fangirls love letters you want to keep private?" Blaise continued to press.

"No. I don't have fan girls. And if you must know the other letters are from Hermione and by extension the Weasleys, Professor McGonagall, and Andromeda." Blaise shifted and had the decency to look away but continued to play with his bacon sullenly.

"What does the old hag want with you?" Pansy continued.

Harry gripped his wand tightly, not even aware he had drawn it until it was in view, and his eyes flared to life. "If you are in this house you will do well to mind your tongue when talking about Professor McGonagall. I will not have her disrespected."

The rest of the table stared at Harry, his wand, and his cold tone but Pansy didn't seemed bothered by it or she was just testing to see how far he would go. "Oh really? And if I don't 'mind my tongue'? What will you do Potter?"

"Oh I don't know," he replied blithely. "I crucio'd that Carrow git who disrespected her, do you really want to test me?" Pansy's eyes widened, the only indication that his words had an affect, but before she could speak again Tracey pinched her arm, effectively silencing the dark-haired witch.

The table remained silent as Harry took a breath and another gulp of coffee before opening McGonagall's letter. The silence wasn't like the previous nights. It was a mix of awe, uncertainty and tinged with fear. It wasn't a silence that Harry was keen to prolong or repeat again and so after a quick scan of the letters contents he spoke again, hoping to salvage the morning. "As it turns out, this letter affects all of you as well."

Dear Mr. Potter,

It is a pleasure to hear from you. Your vagueness is intriguing but I trust you will indulge me when you see fit, preferably sooner than later if it were up to me. As for these Slytherins under your influence, I can pledge my word that they will be protected if they are present at the school to truly help in the rebuilding. I won't stand for sabotaging the rebuildings efforts.

On another note of business, I would like to extend my thanks once again for lending me the use of your House Elf, Kreacher I believe his name is. He had been surprisingly influential over the other House Elves.

I shall be sending you the dates and times for the rebuilding within the next week so be looking out for my owl.

Wishing you the best,

Headmistress McGonagall

"Why?" Astoria piped up.

"When the Hogwarts restorations begin, you will all be there helping, as will I. McGonagall has assured me that no harm will come to you from any unfriendly visitors."

"What! We have to be part of the clean up crew for that place?" Tracey cried.

"Yes, you do. You all will be there to help. McGonagall hopes to have the place functional before September 1st for the new school year." None of the Slytherins seemed overly thrilled at the prospect, but Harry wasn't sure if it was more due to the actual act of rebuilding or going to the location of the last battle where so many had died or because of the negative reception they would most likely receive. "Just think, Astoria plans on going back and it needs to be ready in time. So help rebuild it for her sake at least. And you shouldn't come across any negativity. McGonagall is taking precautions against it and won't pair you with anyone who isn't accepting."

"So, we will be paired with each other then because there isn't anyone who will be accepting of us," Theo drawled.

"You don't know that," Harry defended but fell silent at the glares he received from everyone. "Well what better way to start changing that then by helping." Moving onto the next letter, Harry silenced any further comments. The next letter was from Hermione. It was rather short, not at all like her former letters that could consist of multiple pages. This was merely four lines.

Harry,

I'm glad the Slytherins accepted your offer. I will be there on Saturday to see your new place, so will Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Ron and Ginny will be coming as well but don't take that as a good sign. Stay strong and I'll see you Saturday.

Love always,

Hermione

Andromeda's letter was much the same as Hermione's though a few added lines talking about Teddy. But she had accepted his invitation to visit on Saturday as well, though by the sounds of it she would be arriving later in the afternoon after Teddy's post-lunch nap.

"Oh and Saturday, we will be having some guests over," Harry commented out loud to no one in particular.

"Who?" Astoria asked curiously, Harry was glad that she was at least receptive to a conversation with him, even if it was just based out of childlike curiosity.

"Some friends of mine."

"And who might they be?" Tracey asked.

"Oh Potter has friends, surprise, surprise," Blaise commented with a smirk.

"Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Andromeda Tonks and my godson, Teddy."

"So Granger, the Weasel and Weaslette, and the head Weasleys? What the rest of their brood didn't want to visit this place? It's probably fancier than any of their daydreams put together," Draco snickered.

"What did I say about dropping prejudices at the door? I will not stand for the mockery. You will treat all people under this roof with at least some civility. And if that is too much for you to manage than don't speak at all. Understand? And it's not like Ron and Ginny are coming out of support for my decisions, but mainly out of friendship to me. And I would give a note of advice to make a better attempt with Hermione. Currently, from what I can tell, she is the only one who seems to have any sympathies towards any of you. And she is the one who pushed me towards this decision. Hell, when I finally decided to do this second chance thing she was the only one who stayed remotely near me and actually helped me with ideas. So she is someone I would recommend getting in your court, as it were." This drew silence again and some surprised eyebrow raises.

"Aren't you dating the Weaslette? Surprising that your own girlfriend doesn't support you," Blaise questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"No. We broke it off before last summer," Harry replied not raising his eyes to meet anyone's at the table. He swore if they decided to rub it in or make some comment, he might not be able to control himself.

Silence again. "I didn't know you had a godson, Harry," Daphne spoke up, Harry felt some tension leave him at the change in topic and sent a silent thanks to Daphne.

"Yeah, I do. His parents were killed during the battle. I'm sure you all remember Professor Lupin, our defense teacher back in Third Year?"

"Oh I remember him. He was actually one of my fav-erhm I mean, oh yeah him. I think the name sounds familiar," Tracey backtracked under Draco's glare before training her eyes on her plate. She hadn't eaten anything, merely scooted the items around on her plate to make it look messier.

"Yeah, well it's his son," Harry continued, deciding to ignore the adjustment to Tracey's words.

"You mean the werewolf reproduced!" Draco gasped in disgust.

"What did I just say about disrespect!" Harry ground out, clenching his wand. "That man was a bloody hero and he died protecting those he loved. His wife, Tonks, she died by his side. They fought for a better life for their son and I will not have you disrespect their legacy."

Draco huffed and looked away but didn't respond. Anger pulsing through him to the point that his hands shook slightly, Harry diverted his attention to the next letter: Narcissa's. He had known that the progress made last night during the 'truce' had mainly been forged from the alcohol, but Harry would be lying if he said he hadn't hoped that some civility had leaked into the blonde's perception of him.

Turning his mind back to the letter; opening it and quickly scanning over it, he gave a small nod to himself. Taking a few breaths and few more gulps of coffee Harry felt sure that his emotions were under control before he spoke again with a forced, false upbeat tone. "Well good news, Draco. Your mother seems receptive at least. If you would like to join me in meeting with her to explain things you can."

"Yes. I would….appreciate that...Potter," Draco replied in stiff politeness.

"Great," Harry responded distractedly, as he scanned Kingsley's letter. "Which of you are the best at letter correspondence?" Looking up from the letter he caught the shrugs and encouraging nods passed around.

"Probably Daphne, Theo and Draco," Tracey replied.

"OK, so after breakfast do you three think you could join me in the office to write responses to Draco's mother and Kingsley?"

"Of course," Daphne replied courteously.

"What's Kingsley want?" Theo asked in a bored voice.

"The official ceremony for him being made Minister is Monday and he wants me to attend as an 'honored guest'," Harry sneered in disgust. He hated formal outings that put him on display but everyone seemed to want the Golden Trio at their events since the war.

"Will you need to speak at the event?" Daphne asked.

"I'm not sure. Probably have to say something," he muttered.

"We will try to help you write something up," she offered.

"Thanks. I'd appreciate that. Am I to assume that you three would be the best for that as well?"

"Yeah, most likely," Theo shrugged.

"Please tell me that you have decent robes for an event like this," Pansy sighed.

Harry frowned slightly. "I have robes," he began.

"But are they actually nice?" Pansy cut in.

"They'll do," Harry grit out.

"Hate to break it to you Potter but I highly doubt it. If your plans to turn the Wizengamot on its head and carve out all this new progress is genuine then you need to look the part and attending events like this in anything but the best won't send the right image you need if you want support for your ideas."

Harry didn't say anything as he mulled over her words. He supposed she was right, as much as he was loathe to admit it.

"She's right. People might listen to you a bit because of who you are but if you want to hold their attention and respect then you need to look like someone who means business," Astoria added.

"Fine," he sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I suppose I could do with some nicer robes-"

"A nicer everything is more like it," Pansy snorted at Harry's glare she continued. "I just mean that your other outfits seem to be ill-fitting and rather old. The rest of your wardrobe could do with a clean up."

"Am I to assume that you are the best one to seek advice in that area?"

"Well duh," she replied with a roll of her eyes, before amending. "Well, me and Astoria, Blaise is pretty good too."

"Just know that I want muggle attire as well as wizard," Harry stated, glancing at the three 'shopping experts' to judge their reactions. Astoria tried to look disgusted by the idea but her eyes were shining with curiosity, Pansy wrinkled her nose in distaste and puckered her lips like she ate something sour, and Blaise just gave a bored shrug.

"So we need to take you shopping and soon. If the ceremony is Monday, it is Thursday after all," Astoria pointed out.

"Right, I guess we can go tomorrow. Blaise will you be joining as well?" Harry asked the dark Italian who gave a shrug and a nod.

"I suppose I can find time in my schedule to go spend your money," is all he said.

"Great. That will give us the chance to check out your closet and make a proper list of things you need," Astoria said eagerly.

"Wait what!" Harry protested. "You can't go into my closet!"

"Why not?" Astoria asked frowning. "We have to know what to look for tomorrow."

"Yeah Potter," Pansy joined in, a smirk settling itself on her lips. "Got something secret you're trying to hide in your closet?"

The rest of the table members smirked and shot inquisitive looks at Harry as he glared at Pansy. The witch was making it so difficult for him to try and make amends. Why was she so infuriating? He supposed that by looking through his closet it would make Pansy feel like she had an upper hand and maybe that would make her feel more comfortable here? Maybe she felt like she had no control and was struggling to gain some ground. Harry could give that to the woman, he knew what it was like to feel like you had no control over your life. Even with that possible understanding, Harry didn't like the witch anymore.

The thought of shopping with the three Slytherins created more and more uneasy knots in Harry's stomach with each passing second but he wouldn't let that stop him. If he really wanted to make an effort in breaching past discrepancies then he needed to trust them just as he wanted them to trust him. So he supposed the first step would be letting them look through his closet. Not like there was much in there anyway, so they shouldn't be there for long and Pansy shouldn't be able to find anything incriminating, he reasoned.

"No. I'm not hiding anything," he replied through gritted teeth. How was he supposed to last a shopping trip with this woman when he could barely suffer through a meal with her? At least Astoria and Blaise would be going, Astoria seemed to be more supportive of him so maybe she could act as a barrier between him and Pansy, and possibly Blaise. "Go ahead and create your list."

"It would be my pleasure," Pansy replied with a wicked glint to her eyes. It was unnerving, but Harry knew that if Pansy wanted to snoop through his things for gossip topics then she would with or without his permission at least this way he knew she would be up there and with Astoria, the thought of Blaise up there provided no comfort, but hopefully Astoria would stop the other two if they got too carried away. Hopefully.

"I'm sure it would be," Harry muttered.