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!

When I first started this story I planned on posting once a week. But now with life I don't seem to be able to keep up with that. So now, I'm just going to post whenever I finish a chapter and just hope too much time doesn't pass between the postings. Anyway, so I'm pretty close to having almost everyone's business finalized but I am still curious about any suggestions you all might have.

Well, were is another chapter for you. I feel like it might be kinda scattered but I felt I really had to give you guys something. So hope you enjoy!

Chapter Seventeen

The early morning sunlight was peeking through his curtains and Harry groaned. He didn't want to deal with the day. His head was pounding and his throat felt like a desert. Grumbling and cursing to himself, he flopped over to his nightstand and fumbled with the drawer to grab his hangover potion. Yesterday was a blur of flashing lights, shouted questions, and crowds. The alcohol had called to him all day and he had barely survived until dinner where he drank more wine than he typically did. And that carried him just until the lights went out around the house and he crept back down to the kitchens. It had become an unspoken rule between Harry, Draco and Tracey that they would start drinking when they all got there which was usually the same time around midnight. But not last night. Harry had started far earlier and could barely stand by the time the other two got there. His memory wasn't great from last night but he vaguely remembered the looks the two of them had exchanged.

"Master! Master! Breakfast is happening soon," Zabkeys high pitched voice was like a knife straight to his head as the potion took a moment before kicking in. Distractedly he wondered where the elves got his potions. Did they buy them or make them themselves?

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Harry sighed into his pillow. He really didn't want to face people today. He wanted to hide in his room. He knew that the Slytherins would be insistent upon 'damage control' of his announcements yesterday. He knew he had gotten a little heated but he didn't think he had ruined things so terribly, not so to the posh snakes. To them it was like he had just declared himself the King of Wizarding Britain. And then he knew the letters would start coming in and he didn't want to deal with reading through them all. Then his guests would be officially moving in as well as construction starting up.

When he had suggested renovating a shed into a cottage for Neville and Hannah his elves had then informed him that he already had two small properties already. Staff of bygone ages had once lived in them and while they did need a good dusting would be perfectly suitable to live in by tomorrow. Both of them. Harry planned on checking out both of those small houses today in addition to scoping out his land a little more in depth. He had flown over it last week while angry but that was all he had done in terms of seeing his property.

Theo had then asked a request of transforming the ballroom into a dueling room. This had taken Harry completely by surprise last night at dinner but enjoyed the idea. He had no intentions of using the ballroom and so thought a dueling room would be beneficial. Then Draco and Blaise had brought up a Quidditch pitch since construction and remodeling was already going to be underway why not add that to the list? This was something Harry jumped on wholeheartedly. And he was pretty sure that when he had instructed his elves on the new changes happening and the new guests they had been about to burst from excitement, assuring him that everything would be taken care of and the cottages would be done tomorrow, the dueling room would be finished no later than the end of the week and the Quidditch pitch by the beginning of next week.

Grasping onto those positives and forcing the rest of his thoughts aside, Harry dragged himself out of bed and pulled on some comfortable clothes before heading downstairs. Luna and Padma would be arriving around lunch with their things and Neville and Hannah tomorrow. So for breakfast it was just the original bunch plus Narcissa and Hermione. Grabbing some toast, bacon, and a scoop of eggs to make his plate look full, Harry poured himself some coffee and drained it almost immediately.

There was silence as everyone else began their attempts at eating, the facade of normality becoming a routine for those at the table, at least until the first cups of coffee and tea had been drank and then the chatter would start. This time the silence reigned until the mail was brought. The stacks of mail were so overwhelming, Harry could hardly see Jodkey carrying them. The color drained from his face as he saw the little elf piled the letters in front of him and went to retrive more. He had been expecting the publics' outcry but this was a little excessive.

"Oh Merlin," he sighed, his gaze drifting over the top letters. Hermione, Daphne, Astoria and Theo glanced at them all as well since the pile extended to their seats too.

"Don't touch them," Blaise cautioned, eyeing the one or two envelopes that had slid in front of him after the latest dump of letters from Jodkey.

"Well what are we supposed to do with them?" Harry snapped.

"We just have to test them for hexes first, then we sort them," Tracey explained.

"Hexes?" Harry breathed, he had clung to the naive hope that people would just send Howlers and that his Savior status might have saved him for the most extreme reactions, but deep down he knew that wouldn't be the case. "Anyone know how to test them?"

"Of course," Narcissa stated as though it was obvious and she had known it since birth. Drawing her wand, the woman hovered her hand over the letters silently. About a fifth of them did start to glow red and Theo levitated them out of the stack onto the ground in the corner where Hermione sent a silent incineration spell at the small stack. The table was silent as they stared at the smoldering pile of hexed envelopes.

"Great, now that that is settled, we can sort the letters. What kinda stacks do we want to have?" Astoria asked, looking rather eager about the task ahead.

"Why don't we save that for after breakfast?" Daphne asked, laying a hand on her sisters forearm.

"Why bother? It's not like we are actually eating anything?" Pansy muttered, her fork scattering her small portion of eggs even farther across her plate. Her toast had been coated in jam and had been half eaten and her bowl of fruit had been emptied. But Harry knew the witch was right. His own meal had been grazed upon, the bacon nibbled and his eggs sampled. Inwardly, Harry did feel bad about wasting the food every meal and Kilky did work so hard.

Harry merely shrugged at her comment and called upon Jodkey to clear the table. The elf did so with a simple snap of its fingers and a sad look in its eyes but didn't comment on the request. "Right so, sorting these…" he began.

"Oh! We can do people you know, people from school, and people who are nobodies," Astoria said, leaning across the table and grabbing a letter for each hand and already tossing them in seemingly random directions. "Do you know a Harold Jenkins?" A shake of Harry's head and the letter was sent to the far end of the table. "Well are you lot going to help me or not?" The table jumped to work at that and within ten minutes the letters were in three piles.

"Right, so now what?" Blaise asked gazing disdainfully at the three piles.

"We read them," Astoria shrugged.

"But Potter doesn't like us reading his mail," Pansy sneered.

"Just read the ones from the people I don't know, then it's not even really my mail," Harry growled back. The witch huffed but brought the pile from unknowns. Blaise and Greg joined her on that pile. Draco, Astoria and Theo worked on the one's from school, while Harry, Daphne, and Hermione worked on the ones from people he actually knew. Narcissa departed the group claiming that she would be returning to the Manor to pick up any last minute items.

The room fell into a quiet hum of whispered discussions between the three groups. Harry was unsurprised to see letters from Kingsley requesting a meeting with him, as the man had approached him the day before. But there was also a note requesting he bring the book as well as that might help weed out the hidden Death Eaters. This went into the pile of 'reply immediately'. As did McGonagall's with information on the reconstruction and a request of a private meeting with him. Andromeda had also sent him a letter saying she would be stopping by that afternoon. The 'reply in time' pile was filled with letters from his old DA buddies requesting to grab a meal so he could go over what he was thinking and for them to convince him that he was crazy.

"Any news from the school pile?" Daphne asked after their pile had been dealt with.

"Nothing interesting, most just ranting about how idiotic he is," Draco replied, tossing a letter into an increasingly large pile next to him.

"Some are even claiming that we imperiused you," Theo commented with disinterest.

"Nothing positive?" Daphne inqueried.

"Some," Astoria said her voice pitching unconvincingly. "Well, more like a few….well a couple….really," she said sighing and looking at the four letters next to her.

"More than I expected anyway," Harry muttered, running a hand through his hair.

"And then of course there are the ones' from a Miss Romilda Vane, she is rather insistent you join her for 'that coffee you two talked about'," Astoria quoted looking at three letters near her elbow.

Harry groaned and put his head in his hands. From beside him Hermione gave a disapproving annoyed huff.

"I didn't agree to anything!" he cried out. To which she merely raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "She was ganging up on me at the thing yesterday, kept touching my arm talking about some coffee shop she knew about, and then after the speech she said she'd tell me what she thought of this idea over coffee." He glanced about the table and saw either amusement or disinterest.

"Well, you have to respond to her or she might get a little drastic. You remember Sixth Year," his best friend commented quietly.

"What happened in Sixth Year?" Tracey asked curiously looking between the two Gryffindors.

"She tried slipping me a love potion to get me to ask her to Slughorn's Christmas Party but Hermione heard them talking about it in the girls bathroom and warned me about it and I hid the chocolates until Ron found them in March and thought they were his birthday present. It wasn't pretty. It lead to him drinking some of the poisoned mead that Slughorn had." The table was silent processing this and Draco averted his eyes at Harry's pointed look.

"So rejection but nicely," Daphne determined.

"You don't have much more support from these nobodies either," Blaise added moving back to the original topic. "Though this stack is all from reporters," he added, gesturing towards a decently sized third stack that group had created.

"Right well, get rid of the negatives, let's focus on the positives. Draco, Theo, Daphne, if you could come with me to respond to these," he said waving the 'reply immediately' letters in his hand as he stood up from the table, "that'd be great. And Tracey, can you help Daphne organize the press responses and schedule all that?"

"Of course," the woman replied and Daphne conceded with a nod of her own before departing the room. "Wait, what else is happening today?" Tracey asked before he left the room.

"Um...I plan on checking out the supposed cottages on this property and see how they are being prepared for Neville and Hannah, maybe check out more of the grounds. And starting to draft up the laws I plan on changing. Andromeda and Teddy should be here this afternoon for a visit. But that's it really," he shrugged, the rest of the residents were silently departing to go about their own activities, whatever that was. For once it was an event free day and Harry wasn't sure he was looking forward to having to work through paperwork without distraction.

"Could Greg and I talk with you sometime today?"

"Er...sure?"

"Great!" the strawberry blonde woman chirped before leaving the room. Harry stood in the now empty room and he shifted nervously. Breakfast had gone better than planned but he already felt the exhaustion of dealing with the public responses and knowing what lay ahead.

Dragging his feet to his office he opened the door to see Draco, Theo and Daphne already there, in the same positions as they had been in only days previously. "Right, so Kingsley first and then Professor McGonagall. And then we will deal with the press letters." He made copies of the two letters and sent them to the Slytherins who scanned the letters and began sketching out their versions of the letters before the debates began. While the Slytherins wrote drafts, Harry penned a quick acceptance letter to Andromeda's question of stopping by later that day.

Almost two hours later it was settled. Tracey joined the group towards the end to help plan out when interviews would take place with Daphne while Draco and Theo wrote the responses. Daphne had even conjured a large calendar to hang on one of Harry's walls, dates and appointments being marked already.

Seeing her add the calendar had Harry glancing around the small office and seeing the decidedly boring walls. There was bookshelves and knickknacks on the shelves but there wasn't anything colorful. If he was to spend hours upon hours in this room he wanted something interesting to look at while he did so. Pulling forth a piece of parchment that he had labeled for the renovations he added 'decorate office' underneath the 'build dueling room'.

Draco and Theo slipped out of the room quickly after the letter writing had finished, Tracey did as well saying she and Greg would meet with him soon, but Daphne stayed and glanced at his list. "Pansy could help you with that, you know."

"I'd rather not allow Pansy access to my things again," he retorted.

The blonde rolled her eyes and replied, "She is the best at decorating though."

"I'm sure I can find someone else. Dean's could with art and so is Luna. I could get them to give me some art to hang up."

"Whatever, but you have to give her a chance if you want to make any headway. Ah ah, I know you gave her a chance already," she pushed through his protests with a hand raised. "But Pansy usually needs a couple chances. And she did help you with your wardrobe." Harry shot her a scathing look but she pressed on. "I'm just saying. She is someone you want on your side. You advised us to try with Hermione and I'm advising you to try more with Pansy. If you get her, you'll have a better chance with the others."

"But I've got you," Harry smirked, before he flushed red at the possible implications. "I mean you, your sister and Tracey. You all seem to be on my side."

"Yes, I suppose you could claim that," she replied with a cock of her head as she eyed him critically. The response was less reassuring than Harry had hoped but at least she didn't dwell on his embarrassing comment. "But Pansy will be the key to swinging the boys. Draco and Blaise especially. Theo will be more easily swayed if he can see your intentions are true. And by swaying the others you have a better chance of doing so. Greg...well before he would have done whatever Draco told him but he has been more withdrawn since...well I would suggest working him slowly," she amended.

"Why are you telling me all this?"

"Well in your words, you would say it is because I'm on your side. But in my words, it is because I am tired. I'm tired of bickering and tensions and this is the quickest way to move forward. This is the quickest way to peace in this house. And if we are to be stuck here for five years than peace is the only way to survive that."

Her answer hadn't been expected but it made sense, Harry sighed and slouched backwards in his chair. "I'm assuming that's the motivations for Tracey and Astoria as well?"

"More or less, I suppose. Though they might have more innocent inclinations as well. You'll find they are rather forgiving and trusting individuals, especially for Slytherins."

Harry stared at Daphne for a moment, processing what she said. Her advice to bring Pansy over was wise but Harry dreaded the thought and his whole instinct fought the notion. "So you think by allowing Pansy to decorate my office will win her over."

"Merlin, no," Daphne scoffed. "But it is a step. One of many that will need to be taken. But if she sees' you are attempting I can convince her to be more...receptive."

"Oh, can you?"

"It is a skill of mine."

"Hmm...any other skills you're willing to share?"

"Not at the moment," she replied, her face unreadable. Harry gazed at her, becoming more confused by this witch. Just when he thought he was beginning to understand her, she would leave him in the dust. He thought they were on their way to becoming more like friends, or amicable colleagues would be more exact, but then she would say things that would have him thinking she was just playing him to meet her ends.

"Right….well thanks for the advice, I'll think about talking to Pansy. But don't hold your breath."

"Course not, besides I've got other things to dwell upon." The blonde stood as if to leave.

"Like what your business is going to be?"

She froze at the door, and glanced back at him. "I'm narrowing it down. Don't you fret."

"Course not, I've got other things to dwell upon." Harry caught sight of her lips twitching before she turned and left the room.

Plunged into the silence of his room, Harry sighed, rubbing a hand across his face again and knocking his glasses off. How had life gotten so unpredictable? Grabbing another piece of parchment he began another list of things to do. And for this one he added 'talk to Pansy about decorating' followed by 'figure out Daphne'. He snorted slightly looking at this list and placed it under the other one. Glancing at the clock on his desk he saw he had about an hour or so before lunch and figured now was the time to check out the cottages since his new guests would be arriving soon. Standing up from the desk, he was halfway across the room when a knock sounded on his door. Suppressing a sigh, he opened the door and saw Tracey and Greg standing there, both holding papers nervously.

"Come on in," he said, going to sit back at his desk.

"Thanks for this," Tracey said as she and Greg took their seats.

"So what is this all about?"

"It's about your deal, about us creating that business," she began. Interest immediately perked, Harry straightened and glanced between the two. "First we have to ask, is it still allowed if we partner up?"

"As in, you two working together on a business?"

"Yes."

"I mean I suppose so. I don't see anything against it. You both have to put in equal shares of the work for it though in order for it to count."

"Of course, of course," Tracey said with a dismissive wave. "Well, then we've been talking about this for the past couple days and it's a shared interest of ours. And looking at all those letters from our pile today really just emphasized the fact that this is needed."

"Wait, wait, what are you even talking about?"

"Oh sorry, so silly of me," Tracey chuckled.

"Children," Greg piped up. Harry blinked at the former bully. This was the second time he had heard the man speak in the past week. "We want to start an orphanage." Harry looked between the two of them.

"An orphanage?"

"Yes," Tracey insisted. "One specifically for magical children. There has never been one like it. Quite odd really. But anyway, the war has wrecked so many families and there are tons if not hundreds of children without families now. They need someone to take care of them and they need a place to be raised where they can still be connected to the magical world."

"OK, and what are all those papers?" he asked, looking at the stack in Greg and Tracey's hands.

"Oh these are our notes. On how we would run it, what it would need, numbers for staff, that kind of stuff."

Harry held out his hand and the two handed them the stacks of parchment. Glancing through the notes, he was impressed. The two seemed to have thought of everything, or close to it. "Wow."

"Well? What do you think? Do we have your permission to follow through with it?" Tracey asked nervously. Harry glanced up. The witch was gnawing on her bottom lip and fiddling with the hem of her shirt and Greg still looked impassive but his jaw was tight and his fists were clenched around his knees.

"I like it. Really I do. It's a good idea and it is definitely something the wizarding world needs. Though I have an additional request for this."

The two Slytherins blinked in surprise and Tracey gave a nod for him to continued. Harry watched the nervousness building in their eyes as they wondered what he could add to their idea.

"Also open it up to children who don't have the most ideal homelife. Make it a place for them to stay over the holidays if they don't feel safe or comfortable going home. Or if they are raised by muggles and the muggles are unaccepting. Whatever the circumstances, make this a safe home for them as well."

If Tracey and Greg had any thoughts or opinions on why he was requesting this they kept it to themselves. Harry knew that if he had had a place to go besides the Dursleys, or if that madman had been allowed somewhere away from that orphanage then maybe...just maybe things would have turned out differently.

"Yeah we can definitely incorporate that into the orphanage," Tracey agreed readily.

"Great, then, yeah, I approve of it. What else do you need?"

The two exchanged a glance. "Well for starters we need a location and the building, and then...money. It's not like we have access to our own accounts at the moment."

Swallowing, Harry averted his eyes. Before opening a side drawer and withdrawing the book that had been the start of his life turning completely on end. The two eyed the book on the desktop with a mixture of fear and apprehension. "Alright, so yeah, you don't have access to any of your accounts but I have a better idea. I promised myself I wasn't going to do anything with this stuff, I wasn't going to touch accounts and properties because they weren't really mine. But, I think I have an even better idea for that. The Death Eaters that are dead or are locked in Azkaban for life, they don't have a need for their accounts and properties, right?" he asked, his stomach clenching with guilt at just the thought of what he was saying. He glanced up and the two Slytherins slowly nodded. Their eyes flickering with the beginnings of understanding. "So if we use those properties and accounts, then it should be fine. It's not like they are going to be used any more anyway. So, look through this book. Find the families that are deceased and in Azkaban for life that have no living family members. Mark those ones and from there look through the properties and find what will suit your needs. Your funding will come from those accounts too." The two nodded and Tracey reached out nervously to take the book.

"Thank you, Harry. This means a lot. We will get back to you by the end of the week with our decisions." He just nodded and the two rose to leave, after Greg regathered their notes from Harry's desk.

Harry was left alone once again. Before he could be interrupted again, he left the office and headed outdoors. Breathing deeply the fresh air and feeling the bright sun warming the top of his head, he called out for Bobdy and Holby. The two elves popped in front of him and if it wasn't for Harry bracing himselves for the expected noise, his nerves would have skyrocketed, as it was his pulse still raced and his hands grew sweaty.

"Master! What can Bobdy and Holby be helping Master with?" One of them squeaked, Harry guessed it was Bobdy.

"Yeah, I heard that there were some small properties, or houses, and I was wanting to see them. They are being renovated for some friends of mine to live there."

"Yes, Master, yes! We's very excited to be making them better again for Masters friends," Holby squealed.

"Great. Can you take me to them?" The two elves bobbed their heads, causing their ears to flop about their heads comically.

"Come, Master, you must be following Holby and Bobdy," Holby insisted. The two elves set off then through the gardens with Harry trailing behind them. The elves lead him through a quaint garden path of gravel, passing the greenhouse and a couple gardens. Knocking aside some large fronds, Harry saw the first little house.

Walking up to the front door, he glanced around the outside. It was run down no doubt about it and there were flower boxes on the windows filled with wilted and shriveled flowers, but it wasn't terribly uninhabitable. Pushing the door open, Harry peeked inside and saw a combined kitchen and living area with a ladder leading to the second floor and two doors branching off. The kitchen was covered in dust and the table and chairs were broken and the couches were moth ridden. The first door lead to a bathroom that needed serious updates and the second room led to a tiny closet/pantry combination. Eyeing the ladder apprehensively, Harry tested the strength of it nervously and climbed up as quickly as he could. The second floor was more like a loft with a large window that was cracked. There was a rickety bed and nightstands on either side, cob webs stretched across the broken bulbs of the lamps in the room and there was a wardrobe on the far side of the wall.

There was potential for the one bedroom, loft house, and Harry could picture it working well for Neville and Hannah. Leaving the house he met with the two elves, who appeared to have been weeding the flowers nearby. The elves were at his side the moment he stepped out of the house. "What does Master think?"

"It needs to be deep cleaned and the structure fixed, and all the appliances and the furniture need to be updated. Now, what about the other place?" The elves nodded and practically skipped off from the small clearing.

Trudging off after the elves on another little path through the flowers, Harry walked for another five minutes before coming upon the wall that surrounded the inner grounds. There was a small door leading out of the stone wall with ivy covering it almost completely. And just inside the wall, tucked into a corner was another house, bigger than the first and definitely secluded, though Harry knew he'd be able to see it from the second or third floor bedrooms just like the other one but it wasn't within sight of the patio.

This house had a small patio beside the front door with a stone bench. The house was covered in ivy just like the wall. Going through the front door Harry saw the a dining room and fireplace. Another room showed a kitchen and tiny pantry. There was a bathroom attached to the living room and on the second floor that was lead to by stairs with broken boards and a loose railing was two bedrooms, a bathroom and a balcony at the end of the stares that Harry didn't trust would hold his weight. It was more rundown than the first house but promising.

Meeting the elves once again outside, he relayed the same instructions for the first house and the elves happily agreed. Lopsy then appeared with a pop in front of the three and Harry had his wand drawn and aimed before the elf could squeak in surprise. "Sorry, Lopsy, what is it?"

"Youse guests have arrived, Master," Lopsy replied.

"Great, take me to them. Holby and Bobdy, you know what you need to do." The two gardner elves nodded and disappeared and Harry followed Lopsy back towards the house.

As they walked, Lopsy updated Harry on the plans for the dueling room and the Quidditch pitch. Harry followed along just enough to nod at the right moments. He trusted the elves to do their work well.

"Hello Harry," Luna's voice wafted over him when he stepped into the lobby. Luna and Padma stood near the couches, each with a suitcase by their sides that resembled their Hogwarts trunks a little too well to be coincidence but the trunks were too battered and burnt? to know for sure.

"Luna. Padma," Harry greeted as warmly as he could. "I'm glad you're here. How did your families take it?"

"Father was rather upset but I told him I'd visit him often, so that made him feel better. I also told him I suspect your gardens to be infested with gnomes and Blibbering Humdingers, and who knows what else, so I told him this would be the best place for me to start on my work."

"Oh…." Harry said uncertainly, his eyebrows dipping down at the thought of his gardens being infested. "What work is that Luna?"

"I'm working to be a magizoologist," she stated simply. Harry waited a moment for a bit more elaboration but there was none so he continued.

"Right. That's great. I can't imagine anyone better at that," Harry offered genuinely before turning to Padma who had an appeasing type of smile on her lips.

"Well, my parents were understanding that I wanted to get out of the house. Parvati wasn't thrilled. She doesn't agree with you as you know but expect to see her around often. Says she needs to keep me safe." The scarred woman rolled her eyes at her sister's absurdity.

"I understand her need to make sure you're safe. And she's welcome to visit, any time. Now, why don't you two go and get your rooms settled before lunch?" They nodded and wandered up the stairs to the second floor.

He knew he needed to start on the legislation he wanted to put through but he couldn't force himself to stare at old texts at the moment. So thinking on Daphne's advice from earlier, he wandered up the stairs in search of Pansy. It wasn't difficult to find the dark haired witch. She was in the painting room once again sat before an easel with colored smears on her fingers reaching to her porcelain skinned elbow that was exposed from her sleeves being pushed back. The moment he stepped into the room Pansy froze mid brush stroke, her eyes locked onto his intruding figure.

Harry paused. He really needed to think things through better. How was he going to go about this? Did he even want her help in decorating? He stood just inside the doorway staring at Pansy as she stared at him. Neither moved and neither spoke. Harry felt the awkwardness start to eat away at his skin like an itch he couldn't scratch. He had to say something. But what? His eyes were drawn to her exposed skin, far paler than he had expected; she was almost translucent. He could see her veins clearly enough that it looked like she might have painted them on herself. Her skin clung limply to her forearm only emphasizing how frail the witch had become.

"Hi." He blurted out finally, forcing his eyes off her arms and onto her face. Pansy seemed to snap out of her frozen state because her eyes immediately flickered back to her canvas. And her brush continued with the stroke.

"Do spit it out, Potter. I know you didn't come here just to practice your conversational abilities. And if you did, then considered yourself marked a T, because right now a Troll has a better control of its vocabulary."

"No, I didn't come here to practice my conversational abilities. If I had wanted to do that I would have sought out someone who knew how to speak with a vocabulary past childish remarks," Harry snarked back, feeling a moment of pride at the witch's surprise to his words.

"Then do explain why you are here and interrupting my work."

"Work? Is that what you call it?"

"Yes," she ground out and her eyes flashed. Touched a nerve, Harry thought absently.

"Show me then."

"What?" Her surprise was too strong for her to hide it behind her Slytherin mask.

"Show. Me. Merlin, I didn't realize that you talked to makeup for your inability to hear properly. That explains so much."

"I had heard you the first time, Potter," she growled. "I was merely inquiring as to why you wanted to look."

"Then you should have said 'why' not 'what'," Harry practically sang back. He was beginning to figure out how to deal with Pansy at least. Just be just as annoying back, it seemed to get through to her.

If she hadn't been bound to not purposefully harm him, Harry was certain he would have been hexed into oblivion just by her glare. "Why do you care?" she questioned instead after she had gotten a handle on herself.

"Does it matter?"

"Yes."

"I need some sort of evidence in support of Daphne's claims."

"What claims?"

"Show me and I might elaborate."

The staring contest was back in motion as Pansy peered at him, he could see her mind calculating the pros and cons of letting him look at her painting. Trying to determine her motives, trying to analyze what Daphne could have claimed. Weighing her curiosity over the whole situation to her desire to have something kept private from him.

Privacy must have won out because she finally spoke, an uncertain "No" was announced and then silence fell again. Harry merely gave a nod as though he expected that answer, he partially had, and cast his eyes about the rest of the room. There were already some canvases leaning against the far wall but facing towards the wall. Curious, Harry decided to stroll over to them, deciding it was best to just not respond to Pansy. He was learning to Slytherins had a control over silence, they wielded it to their benefit. So he thought he might give it a try too. See how the witch liked the tables turned.

Seeing the direction he was heading, Pansy stiffened and half rose out of her chair. "What are you doing?"

"Looking," he replied casually.

"Why?" Harry stopped just as he reached the canvases and turned to look back at Pansy. Her voice had cracked to reveal her panicked desperation. Looking at her he saw how terrified she was at him seeing her paintings. What could she be painting that made her act like that at the thought of him seeing? Would she react this way if anyone tried to look or was it just him? Her eyes were wide and she looked like a frightened wild animal than an indifferent and cold Slytherin witch.

He didn't speak for a moment, just studied the woman. She was standing now, her palette left on her chair and her hands gripped the top of her current canvas as though she was debating launching herself at him to prevent him from seeing. He actually felt some sympathy for her, but he wasn't sure what he was sympathizing with. Sure he understood the need and desire for privacy, he sought the same. Had all his life. But she was one of the very people who had directly violated that privacy just last week. Did she really deserve for him to respect her wish for privacy when she hadn't done the same for him?

She must have saw where his mind was heading because her lip trembled and guilt flashed across the fear momentarily. "Please." The word was quiet and soft, he almost missed it. But it stopped his hand from reaching down like it had just been about to do.

Harry stared more as his mind debated his next course of action. Last week, she had blatantly disregarded his trust and invaded his privacy but she had claimed repentance and begged a second chance. He had relented and provided that second chance. Daphne had claimed that Pansy was the key to bringing the rest of the house onto his side and living in peace. She also claimed that the dark-haired witch would need multiple chances before things finally went smoothly. Was this an opportunity to extend an olive branch between the two? Could they reach an understanding through a decision by him to adhere to her wish for privacy? Or could he give in to his spiteful desires that were brewing and growing within him by the second and possibly set them back even farther but he would receive his immediate satisfaction and revenge? He supposed that if he wanted to he could just come back later that night and look, that way he would appear as extending the hand for trust but would still have his curiosity sated. Merlin, he thought wearily, the Slytherins were rubbing off on him quick with that line of underhanded thinking.

Turning so that he was fully facing Pansy and had his back to the canvases, he finally spoke. "Daphne was under the impression that you were the one to seek in terms of decorating and providing art pieces for my office. I, of course, believe that Luna or Dean would be just as suitable if not more so. I have this belief because I've actually seen their work and was rather impressed by it." Pansy said nothing but he saw her fingers start to fidget on the top of her canvas as if debating the offer nervously. "So, what say you? Now keep in mind that my office will be hosting many different people over time. Many important people as I hold private meetings with other Wizengamot members and other Ministry officials to try and get my legislation pushed through. Think of the exposure my office will receive, as well as the decorations in it." He watched her eyes start to light up at the thought of being recognized. It was innocent and hopeful. A look he never expected to see on Pansy Parkinson. "So you have three options at the moment," he pushed on. "One, you could decorate my office and simply use the work that Luna and Dean provide. Two, you can decorate my office incorporating your work as well as theirs. Or three, you can do nothing, not decorate my office at all and continue with your...work, with no one ever witnessing the effort that you put into it. Personally, I prefer you choose two. But it's not like my opinion really matters though. So, it's up to you." Satisfied with his on the spot offer, Harry turned towards the door.

"Potter." Harry hadn't expected a response from her, especially not so soon, so he turned to face her curiously, his hand resting on the doorknob. "My paintings, my work….it's….No one but Daphne and Tracey has ever seen it. It's how I cope," she whispered, looking very vulnerable. "I will decorate your office, because honestly, I can't trust your atrocious sense of style to manage anything decent," she continued sounding more like her old self that it brought a smirk to his lips. "But I'm not sure if I can submit my paintings as well."

"I think you should. It's how you cope, yeah, but maybe your paintings can be used to help others cope. Luna once told me that art was a way of expression not just for the artist but for the ones who viewed it as well. A good painting can bring forth emotions and feelings that people might not have realized they were feeling. Maybe your art can do the same," Harry shrugged. He didn't even really know why he was pushing so hard for her to do this, a few hours ago he hadn't wanted her anywhere near his office. But now, seeing her so vulnerable and actually being honest stirred in him the desire to help her succeed. He really hated his bleeding heart sometimes. "Anyway, it's your choice. But if you could get to work on my office so that it is done by end of next week, that'd be great. Bye." Swiftly he turned and stepped out of the room, shutting the door hard.

That had been too weird. Really weird. They had snarked at each other and it hadn't annoyed him like it usually did. He had actually enjoyed it. Odd. Maybe because after a week of it, it was becoming familiar? And then they had had a conversation. Well sort of. They hadn't talked a lot while he was in there but he now stood feeling like he had a better understanding of the woman. Odd. Did he really want to understand Pansy Parkinson? He hadn't thought so. But Daphne had been right, they were to live in this place for five years. Peace would be needed for them to survive it and maybe understanding was just the thing to reach it.

Sighing, Harry walked away, not really sure where to go and not wanting to start on legislation yet. He was saved by Lopsy popping up and alerting him to Andromeda arriving. He hadn't even realized he had missed lunch, not that he was really hungry for it anyway.

"Andromeda! Teddy!" He cried out when he saw the two in the lobby. Teddy gave a squeal of delight at seeing him and his hair went to raven black in an instant. His lips twitched at the sight of his godson and he gladly picked up the tiny child. He still wasn't confident in holding the squirming baby but it brought him a comfort to hold Teddy close to him. "How are you?" he asked Andromeda as he sat on one of the blue arm chairs and she followed suit.

"Alright, I suppose. That was some speech you gave yesterday." Harry groaned and hid his face behind Teddy. "Have you read the papers yet?"

"No, but I got quite a few letters. Everyone expressing their opinions on the matter."

"It's to be expected. What you are demanding will take time, especially for right now. People are still hurt and healing. They don't want to think on acceptance and progress."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. But how do I make them see that this is the only way for us to really heal. To really move forward?"

"Show them the success."

Harry blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Show the public the success of your endeavor. Seeing the end outcome will provide you with evidence and with a greater case for making others want the same."

"But success how? Success with their businesses?"

"No, success with your relationships with them. Show them the friendships that are formed and how much better you are for it and it will help. And of course the businesses will also help put a nicer light on their ruined images."

"Friendships?" Harry scoffed. "That wasn't part of the deal. I told them that. I don't need or want to be their friend. I just want us to tolerate each other for the next five years."

Andromeda gave him a look that had him feeling like he had failed a test and had him squirm slightly. "What do you think five years of tolerance breeds? It breeds acceptance. Which breeds understanding and friendship. Especially living in such close quarters. Just you wait. It will happen whether you wish it or not." She spoke with such certainty and Harry felt that she was just giving him his life sentence with the uncertainty and fear that her words espoused.

"Narcissa is here," he blurted out, desperate for a topic change. "She accepted my offer. She is gathering her things from the manor today though."

Andromeda was silent, her face gave nothing away. "I'm glad that she had moved here. I can't imagine living in Malfoy Manor was doing her any good."

Harry waited for her to say more on the matter but she was mute on the subject so he sighed. "Yeah, and Luna and Padma have moved in today and Neville and Hannah are moving in tomorrow to a little cottage in the back."

"That's wonderful. I'm glad your friends are willing to accept the changes. I'm sure it will only help the public see the successes that much quicker too." Harry didn't want to talk on those 'successes' much at the moment and he averted his eyes.

"There is another little house in the back too. And we are building a Quidditch pitch and turning the ballroom into a dueling room."

"Very impressive. Quite a bit has changed since my last visit." Harry nodded but he was still feeling antsy over the previous topic and was desperate for a distraction of some kind. He glanced down at Teddy was content in his arms and sucking on a hand.

The distraction came in the form of Narcissa Malfoy. She strode through the front door with a bunch of bags that Harry could only guess held shrunken objects from the manor. The Malfoy matriarch stopped at the sight of her older sister and Andromeda stiffened in her seat. Their eyes were locked on each others and Harry felt very much like an intruder on this moment.

"Cissa?" Andromeda breathed.

"Andy?" Narcissa replied in a whisper. Andromeda stood and took a few steps towards her sister.

"How are you?"

Narcissa just stared wide eyed at the disowned Black sister. "I'm so sorry!" the usually composed woman declared. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry about everything. I wanted to contact you. But Mother and Father refused it. I was such a coward to not even send an owl after you." At this moment, Harry slowly started inching towards the back door, he didn't want to play witness to this reunion any longer and he knew he had no right to either. "I've missed you so much!"

"Oh, Cissa, I've missed you too." And that was the last Harry heard as he managed to step out on the back porch and shut the door quietly behind him. Sighing, Harry breathed in the summer air and moved to one of the porch chairs to sit and play with Teddy until someone came to find him.

"Hello Teddy," he said quietly, the baby in question just stared up at him with such trusting eyes that it nearly broke Harry at the innocence. Suddenly the baby burst into spontaneous giggles, reaching his tiny hands out touch him and Harry felt a few tears slip at the pure joy wiggling before him. This is what everything was for. His godson was his motivation to push through all the negatives. This tiny bundle of love was the reason they fought in the war. "You are the reason I'm doing all of this," he whispered, his voice rough with the emotion that was washing over him. "I'm going to make this a better world for you to grow up in. You are going to grow up and be well loved and never go without. I promise you this. This whole world is for you. I just hope I can do it justice for you."