Harry Potter || Drarry || The Seelie Prince and the Boy Who Lived || Drarry || Harry Potter
Title: The Seelie Prince and the Boy Who Lived – Welcome to the London Institute
Fandom: Harry Potter
Disclaimer: All rights to Harry Potter reserved to J.K. Rowling. This fanfiction on the other hand is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.
Tags: m/m, pining, rivals to lovers, f/f, m/f
Main Pairing: Draco/Harry
Side Pairings: Sirius/Remus, Luna/Ginny, Ron/Hermione, Arthur/Molly
Harry Potter Characters:
Shadowhunters: Harry Potter, Neville Longbottom, Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, Ginevra 'Ginny' Weasley, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Arthur Weasley, Molly Weasley
Werewolves: Remus Lupin, Sirius Black
Warlocks: Luna Lovegood
Seelies: Draco Malfoy
Summary: Harry Potter was the Boy Who Lived – the Shadowhunter who had survived an attack from the Greater Demon Voldemort. Now that Voldemort is returned, the Clave thinks Harry is directly involved in this and sends Draco Malfoy, half-Seelie and Envoy of the Clave, to investigate.
The Seelie Prince and the Boy Who Lived
Welcome to the London Institute
"How would you describe Harry Potter?"
"Harry Potter and his parabatai share exactly one brain-cell and most of the time I'm the one who has custody of it", replied Hermione Granger before clasping her hands over her mouth.
The Seelie in front of her smirked knowingly. "Don't worry, Miss Granger. Honesty is one of the side-effects of the veritas wine. We do want these interrogations to be... honest."
Hermione straightened her back and glared fiercely at the smug Seelie. Half-Seelie.
"I find it utterly offensive that the Clave sent someone to interrogate us, after all the years of loyal service and how dedicated every single Shadowhunter here has worked", huffed Hermione.
"Be that as it may, Miss Granger. The Greater Demon Voldemort has risen and considering that your Institute is the home of the so-called Boy Who Lived, it is my duty as the Envoy of the Clave to make sure said boy is not at fault for the demon's rising."
"Everything you just said was so insulting", stated Hermione displeased and crossed her arms over her chest. "If anything, Harry has been warning the Clave for years now that Voldemort had plans to return to Earth but the Clave turned two blind eyes to all signs until it was too late!"
"The Clave, Miss Granger", drawled the half-Seelie. "Is not under interrogation here. You, however, are. Now, for the record, tell me how you and Mister Potter met."
Hermione narrowed her eyes at Draco Malfoy. He had the ethereal beauty of a Seelie – long, blonde nearly silver hair, decorated with leafs of emeralds and gold that seemed nearly like a crown as it held back his hair and showed off his pointy ears, leaf-patterns growing like vines down his face and neck and underneath his robes, a dark-green cloak over his frilly dress-shirt and black, tight pants. The only thing betraying him as a half-Seelie were the runes poking out beneath his sleeves and one on the vine-free side of his neck. His father, Lucius Malfoy, was a high-ranking Seelie knight and his mother Narcissa came from a highly respected, long line of Shadowhunters. However, he had grown up at the Seelie Court, rumor had it as a personal favorite of the Seelie Queen. There weren't many Shadowhunters their age that Hermione didn't know, so this didn't sit right with her – she had no idea what to expect, what to think about him. So far, she was not impressed. That was linked to all the accusations against her best and oldest friend though.
"Harry and I grew up together as neighbors, we went to school together", replied Hermione.
"Mundie school, isn't it?", asked Draco, a rhetorical question really. "Because you're a mundane."
"I was a mundane", corrected Hermione, lifting her chin up some. "I was born to two mundanes, yes. And... growing up, Harry too thought he was mundane. When his real heritage was revealed and he got dragged into the Shadow World, I was right at his side. And when I learned that through the Mortal Cup, I could become a Shadowhunter and stay at his side, and the side of the friends we made along the way, that was hardly a question for me."
Hermione could see the judgment on Draco's face. Mundie-born Shadowhunters still faced many prejudices among such a pure-blood centered race as the Shadowhunters. Even Draco, despite having mixed blood, came from one of the most respected Shadowhunter families. Hermione's parents were dentists, not soldiers. Still, there had never been a moment of hesitation when Harry and Ron were to leave for the academy in Alicante – if there was a way to come with them, she would. Many had been doubtful about it, as a mundane she lacked all basic education about the Shadow World. However, one should never underestimate Hermione Granger, especially not when there was knowledge to be soaked up and read up on.
"Did you ever, at any point, doubt Mister Potter's loyalty to the Clave?", asked Draco.
"Yes", replied Hermione, eyes widening before she narrowed them. "Because the Clave treats Downworlders like secondary people and one of Harry's best friends is a Downworlder and both his dads are Downworlders. His loyalty was and always will be with the pack above the Clave."
There was no denying it, that would be stupid. Everyone knew that Harry's loyalty laid with Remus and Sirius before anything else. He'd never betray his dads, not for the Clave or anyone.
"His... fathers. What did he think where he came from?", wondered Draco.
"He always knew that Sirius, his godfather, had adopted him after his biological parents were killed. The... circumstances of Lily and James' death were... not what he had believed them to be", admitted Hermione reluctantly. "Ever since Harry learned that Voldemort killed his parents, he had been doing research on Voldemort. Preventive, not how to summon him."
There was a sharp note to her voice when she saw the accusatory way in which Draco raised one overly elegant eyebrow. She knew, she knew where the rumors came from, she knew that it didn't look good for her dear friend, however... she knew, with every fiber of her body, that Harry did not summon Voldemort, that he would never do that.
"Preventive, of course", nodded Draco, not sounding like he believed it. "Miss Granger, you're a very intelligent woman, judging by your file, you must be aware how this looks. Harry Potter, somehow linked through magic to a Greater Demon, close friends with a very powerful warlock, for years the only witness to Voldemort's supposed appearances... and then one of the very few people who encountered Voldemort after he was summoned. Now, not everyone assumes that Mister Potter was corrupted by the Greater Demon and summoned him out of loyalty, many think he did it to get revenge for his parents. A goal that quite a few can understand. What is important is the truth, if he were to come clean, the Clave would surely show mercy."
"Yes, Inquisitor Umbridge strikes me as a very merciful woman", agreed Hermione sarcastically.
Draco snorted at that, which – interesting. So the Envoy himself wasn't overly fond of the Inquisitor? Well, there were very few who were genuinely loyal to her. She was a very... strict and unlikable person. Hermione had encountered her before, when rumors about Voldemort's return finally fully manifested and others started believing Harry. She had come personally to investigate. Compared to that, Draco's little visit here was going to be a vacation.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have actual work to do", huffed Hermione and got up. "I'm sure you have a long list of people you want to bother. Have a good day."
Not waiting for a reply, Hermione got up and walked out of the interrogation room. She was done answering pointless questions, if Draco wanted to poke around, there were enough people at the London Institute that he could question and they all would say the same things.
/break\
When Harry Potter was just an infant, his parents were murdered by Voldemort, a Greater Demon who had been summoned by the Shadowhunter Tom Riddle. Tom had aimed to erase all Downworlders from Earth and had made a pact with the Greater Demon to do so. The Potters had gotten into the cross-hair and the only one to survive had been Harry – blessed by the Angel.
Harry's godfather Sirius Black had adopted Harry, together with his husband Remus Lupin. Sirius used to be the parabatai of Harry's father, until Sirius – and Remus – had been turned into werewolves. Shunned from the Shadowhunter society, the two had raised Harry in the mundane world, in a nice little suburban area, where Harry got to live as a happy, normal child.
He grew up with his best friend Hermione Granger, until the two of them were eleven and got dragged into the Shadow World. As a Shadowhunter from a very well-respected family, the Clave insisted that it was time for Harry to go to the academy and receive the proper training. Headmaster Dumbledore was very insistent on it. And while reluctant because of the way the Shadowhunters had cast them aside for being werewolves, Remus and Sirius also knew that this was not just a part of Harry, it was also the last legacy of his parents that he had.
The bigger problem, at least for Remus and Sirius, was Hermione, because the little girl was very determined to not be left behind. Especially not after Remus and Sirius first took Harry to the London Institute. The current heads of the Institute, Arthur and Molly Weasley, welcomed them with open arms and wide smiles and Harry and Hermione relatively quickly befriended the Weasley child that was their age – Ron. Seeing how well the boys got along right away made Hermione even more fiercely determined to not be left behind, so it was up to the four adults to try and come up with a solution. It wasn't unheard of; the Mortal Cup literally existed for this one purpose – however, there needed a case to be made for why a mundane deserved to be made a Shadowhunter.
Thankfully enough, Hermione was scarily clever and a quick study. She was easily pitched as a good and useful addition to the Shadow World. What was hard was the departure, when it was time for Harry, Hermione and Ron to leave for Alicante and the academy.
They made friends there, they trained and studied hard, they gained their first runes and they grew closer. Harry and Ron soon became inseparable and after learning about parabatai, it didn't take them long to decide that this was a perfect match for them. Despite how many years Harry and Hermione had on them, she didn't hold it against them; she was more skeptical of the whole process. Hermione and Ron however grew closer in an entirely different way and by the time they turned sixteen, the two of them shared their first kiss.
After they graduated from the academy and got to join the London Institute (where they were welcomed back with proud tears and warmth by the Weasleys), things... escalated.
Quirinus Quirrell turned out to be a leftover Death Eater – the circle of traitors gathered around Tom Riddle some odd twenty years ago, the ones responsible for summoning Voldemort in the first place. And he tried again. He hunted unicorns to use their blood in the rite to summon the demon, though due to a lack of guidance from a warlock, he didn't manage fully, he only managed to get himself possessed by the demon, sharing a body with him. Which only made things harder for the young Shadowhunters, who grew suspicious of Voldemort's return but with no physical evidence, no one wanted to hear anything about that. Voldemort was banished back to Edom for good.
Voldemort wasn't banished back to Edom for good, naturally, and Harry, Hermione, Ron and their slowly growing group of friends knew that. The three had been joined by three Weasleys – the twins Fred and George, who had kind of taken them under their wings at the academy, as well as Ginny, who came to the academy one year after the trio. Neville Longbottom became a dear friend to them and they had made contact with the High Warlock of London, in their attempt to research Voldemort, and had befriended Luna Lovegood. They didn't get to stay close to everyone from the academy though, some like Dean and Seamus had been transferred to a different institute. Which figured; not all of them could end up at the same institute, there were so many institutes in need of fresh blood and realistically speaking Harry, Hermione and Ron could already be glad to stay together like this, though the special circumstances of their families had helped there (Harry and Hermione's living in the mundie world and Ron's running the London Institute).
They lost one of their friends to Voldemort. They had followed a lead, a solid lead to where the Death Eaters were hiding out, but the teenagers were overwhelmed and Cedric Diggory was murdered – sacrificed. A sacrifice made to fully summon Voldemort back onto Earth.
Which brought them to their current situation, because a Shadowhunter turning up dead like that did draw the Clave's attention... and so did Voldemort actually attacking an institute. Naturally did the Clave have to be whacked over the head by the Greater Demon himself.
Harry ended up blamed for it. After all, this had only started happening after he showed up, right? There was some kind of bond between the boy and the demon, since the boy had survived the demon's attack. Maybe he was a loyal follower, perhaps not willingly so but still. And the one who had died had been one of Harry's followers; a willing sacrifice? Were they just junior Death Eaters, the bunch of them, led by Harry Potter himself? Inquisitor Umbridge wanted answers.
Draco Malfoy was sent to find those answers.
/break\
"How did it go? Did he do anything to you? I swear, I'll punch him in the face if-"
"Ronald", interrupted Hermione pointedly. "I am perfectly capable of punching him in the face if he needs face-punching. He is... just doing his job. I'm angry about all of this too, but... all we can do right now is offer the truth and make them see so they can join us in fighting Voldemort instead of fighting us like we're Voldemort."
She sighed annoyed and gracefully sank down next to her boyfriend on the couch. With a smile did she kiss his cheek; it was kind of cute that he offered punching. But at the fresh air on her way here, she had considered all their options and fighting the Clave was not one of them. They needed to make the inquisitor and the Clave see reason. Perhaps, just maybe, Draco Malfoy was their chance for that. For so long, the Clave had denied everything Harry and his friends had tried to claim. Now they were forced to see a certain truth to their words and maybe this investigation would play in their favor and prove the full truth of their worlds. Still, she did not like this Draco Malfoy.
"Would you like a drink? With or without alcohol?"
"I feel like I need something stronger than juice. Thank you, Luna."
The High Warlock offered a kind smile as she summoned a drink for Hermione. Maybe the only upside of how long this farce had dragged out; at least by now they were of legal drinking age and could drown their frustration with the Clave in alcohol... Sighing, she took a drink.
"How are you doing with this, Harry?", asked Hermione softly.
She turned slowly, surveying the gathering at the High Warlock's relatively eccentric home (well, it matched the High Warlock herself). Fred and George sat on one couch, tinkering with something. Neville and Ginny sat together with Luna Lovegood, the High Warlock. Next to Hermione was Ron and on his other side his parabatai – Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived. The main suspect.
Harry was hunched over, his incredibly messy, dark brown hair sticking up like he had been ruffling it, which it was capable of doing without ruffling yet something told Hermione that there had been a lot of ruffling. Harry was the most frustrated out of them all, and for good reason. He tilted his head to look at her side-ways with those intense emerald eyes of his. His glasses sat crooked on his nose and the way his hair fell revealed the lightning scar running over his forehead; the great reminder of what Voldemort had done to Harry's parents, the only remainder of that night.
"I'm doing great, Hermione. Just great", muttered Harry sarcastically. "I seem to be the only one Malfoy doesn't want to talk to. First Ron, then you. Next up Neville, right?"
"Y... Yeah", grunted Neville, turning just a little green. "This whole thing makes me nervous. It's the Clave, what if they find us guilty? And... And... derune us?"
"Oh well, we'll all become dentists then, right, Hermione?", asked Ron with a broad grin.
"How can you act this carefree?", asked Hermione and slapped his chest lightly.
"C'mon. We got the truth on our side. And hey, maybe Voldemort's gonna wipe out the Clave before they can derune us!", offered Ron with a shrug, glaring at the wall. "They'd have it coming."
"They do, but you're not supposed to say that", chided Ginny and rolled her eyes.
"We can all just move away, change our names and join Charlie in dragon-taming", offered Fred.
"Yeah, he said we could come join him any time we want", agreed George. "Fake names. I'll be Forge, you'll be Gred. Mh... Weaselton? Yes. That suits us. Forge and Gred Weaselton."
Hermione groaned and buried her face in her hands. Ron laughed, wrapping one arm around her waist and running small, soothing circles around her hip. If Voldemort wasn't going to kill her, they may just succeed in it. Her eyes wandered over to Harry, concern written over her face.
"I'll be fine, Hermione. Don't worry. I'm always fine", offered Harry softly with a crooked grin.
/break\
Harry was, in fact, not always fine. He was relatively often fine. Most of the times, even.
Moments he had not been fine included – in that order – when he had first learned about his parents' death and started wondering about them, about the people he never got to meet, when he had second learned about his parents' death and had to wrap his head around the fact that demons and angels were real, when he had first gotten antagonized by the London clan leader Severus Snape, who apparently had not gotten along well with Harry's dad during his time at the London Institute, when a teacher he trusted turned out to be a traitor, when his dear friend and maybe-kind-of-perhaps boyfriend Cedric Diggory had died and Voldemort returned and, right now. Right now, when the Clave was investigating him for a crime that was really offensive that they accused him of.
The soothing words of revenge they related to somehow just twisted the knife. That Harry may have been reckless, may have summoned the Greater Demon so he could kill him for what he had done to Harry's parents. Harry was many things, but not filled with an aching for revenge. His biological parents were dead, they had died to protect him. Who was he to throw that away and provoke a Greater Demon like that? The right thing to honor that sacrifice was to lead a good life.
He had really tried leading a good life. With his dads, with Hermione, then at the academy trying to be the best he could, making friends. Coming to the London Institute as a fully fledged Shadowhunter adored with runes and filled with eagerness, it was supposed to be his new start. His chance to make his life mean something. Lily and James Potter had died for his life and he was going to use it to protect others, to help save the world one demon at a time.
Now, one of his dear friends was dead, the Greater Demon who had killed his parents was back to terrorize London once more and there was an Envoy of the Clave sitting opposite him, staring at him intensely like he was trying to read every sin Harry had ever committed.
"Draco Malfoy", stated Harry with a glare, looking the other up and down.
"Harry Potter", countered Draco Malfoy unimpressed. "Somehow I was expecting... more."
"Sorry that surviving a Greater Demon attack only comes with this handy scar and not say, wings and a halo", huffed Harry, wiping his hair out of his forehead.
Draco's eyes were intense as they stared at the scar, like he was trying to analyze it, as though in the wild lightning pattern laid a map that would lead him directly to Voldemort. Who knew, maybe it would. After all, it had been given by the Greater Demon. It was linked to him. Somehow.
"Tell me about your link to the demon", ordered Draco.
He was tapping his pen against the paper and using his free hand to tug a long, silver strand of hair behind one pointy ear. Harry tried not to stare. Despite being an utter pain in the ass for Harry right now, the Shadowhunter had to admit that Draco was gorgeous. He'd have to be blind and in denial not to see it. All Seelies had this otherworldly beauty, but something about the nearly porcelain skin and the long, silver hair was particularly intense. Even his eyes seemed silver in the right light.
"I can speak to snakes", offered Harry dismissively with a sigh. "Went to the zoo with Mione when we were kids and accidentally freed a snake after I talked to it. It freaked Mione right out."
He laughed at the memory. His dads had taken him and Hermione to so many exhibitions – museums and zoos and anything else filled with knowledge, because Hermione was practically a sponge for it. But this one? She had screeched when the snake had slithered past and for months, they had tried to figure out how it all had happened. Magic had not been an option for them back then, but looking back at it now, it all made more or less perfect sense.
"Voldemort, lord of snakes", muttered Draco beneath his breath, scribbling something. "There was another incident with a... snake. During your second year returned to London. Tell me about it."
"I'm not fine with you badgering Ginny about this one", pointed Harry out with a grave glare.
"She was possessed by the Greater Demon and lived to tell the tale. I quite literally had to have her tell me the tale", countered Draco dryly and unimpressed. "Your side of the story, please."
The way he said please was somehow not pleasant at all. More like a thinly veiled order. Harry didn't like being ordered around, it raised his hackles. He turned more toward the half-Seelie and glared at him as he straightened his back, so he could look down at Draco. That seemed to piss the half-Seelie off because he tried to straighten more to be the one doing the looming. Heh.
"Someone, and we're guessing Quirrell before he died, smuggled a basilisk into the institute. Probably to try and take out as many Shadowhunters without casualties on their own side. Ginny, we were all doing research on Voldemort, after that Quirrell-incident, and Ginny, she was reading a book... we didn't know what it was, what it'd do. Tom Riddle's diary. She had found it in the institute's library and thought it could tell us more about how Voldemort was summoned. So we can prevent it. We didn't know the diary was... drenched in Voldemort's essence, that he had used it as a fail-safe to anchor himself in the mortal realm. He... possessed Ginny. We were only able to defeat the basilisk because I speak snake and we managed to break the possession with the help of the Soul Sword, it cut Voldemort's soul off Ginny's", replied Harry, chin propped up on his hand.
"Mh, and where exactly did you get the Soul Sword from?", inquired Draco.
"Found it inside a magic hat that a phoenix brought me", quipped Harry with a sarcastic smile.
"Seriously, Potter", warned Draco irritated, eyebrows drawn together.
"What, not 'Mister Potter'? No respect for the Boy Who Lived?", asked Harry snarkily.
"Well, if you think your cute little moniker earns you respect, I should expect to be referred to as 'Your Highness' from hereon out", countered Draco unimpressed.
Harry huffed out a laugh at that. That was right. The half-Seelie favorite of the Seelie Queen. Most of Idris referred to him as the Seelie Prince, since the queen herself had no children and only favoritism to offer – and that quite clearly went all to Draco Malfoy.
"I got the Soul Sword from the last Envoy of the Clave they sent to investigate Quirrell's death. Gilderoy Lockart. Possibly the most useless Shadowhunter I have ever seen. Brought the sword with him to use for the interrogation and just... left it laying around in his office, not even locking it away", huffed Harry. "Luna – the High Warlock of London – she concluded that the Soul Sword should be able to cut through such a soul-bond, so we gave it a shot."
"And what did you do next to cater to Voldemort's plans?", asked Draco, nodding dismissively.
"Excuse me?", huffed Harry offended, glaring openly at Draco.
"Oh, the first apology, now that I have to note down", snorted Draco sarcastically.
"Apology?", asked Harry incredulously. "We've done nothing but work hard to defeat Voldemort-"
"You've done nothing but help Voldemort. Intentions notwithstanding", interrupted Draco, glare pointed and icy. "You doing your little research into how to get to the Mortal Cup; what do you think how Quirrell did it? By copying your notes, for large parts. You brought Tom Riddle's diary out of hibernation and gave Voldemort a foothold in this world. You investigated all on your own and went to the Death Eaters' hideout all on your own, delivering Diggory on a silver platter to be used as a sacrifice. What's next? Are you going to hand him the key to the Institute? If you and your little gang had kept out of this from the beginning, we wouldn't be where we are right now."
Harry stared, mouth hanging a little open as he desperately wanted to argue – but couldn't. Voldemort had returned because he had been able to use Cedric as his 'pure-hearted soul' sacrifice and Cedric had only been at the graveyard because of Harry. When Quirrell had died, Voldemort had been banished back to Edom, at least until Ginny had opened the diary and tried to read up on Tom Riddle. And... maybe, just maybe, if they had trusted that the Clave had the Mortal Cup well-protected instead of sneaking around trying to get to it on their own, maybe Quirrell did copy some of the things they had figured out, maybe he had only gotten there to begin with because of them.
"I think that will be all for today, Potter. Just... try thinking before acting next time."
/break\
"Hey. Hey, kiddo, what's wrong with you? You look like you've seen a ghost."
Furrowing his brows, Harry flopped down onto the couch, right between his dads. Remus and Sirius exchanged a concerned look over his head. Harry was rarely quiet and this expression on his face was more than concerning. Gently, Sirius ruffled his hair, gaining Harry's attention.
"That Malfoy kid getting to you?", guessed Sirius. "He interrogated us too. Moony had him well frustrated and distracted, you know? Showed off the family album with the best of pictures of little Harry and your biggest accomplishments. After all, the brat did ask about your upbringing."
Remus looked utterly pleased at that, it nearly did put a smile on Harry's lips. "It's not... I mean, it is because of something Malfoy said but not like that. Do you... think it's all my fault?"
"Your fault? What is?", asked Remus concerned.
"Everything. I mean, we... we brought the diary into play, we brought Cedric exactly where Voldemort wanted him and... if we hadn't, maybe-", started Harry stilted.
"Don't do that", interrupted Remus seriously, grasping his shoulder. "The Death Eaters are set on erasing all Downworlders from this world, they have been ever since we were your age. Look at them, they managed to summon Voldemort with unicorn blood, all without you being involved. And who knows, maybe the protection would have sufficed for the Mortal Cup... or Quirrell would have gotten away with it. Maybe they would have raised a whole army of like-minded Shadowhunters had you not intervened. And... Cedric's death, I know how much it hurt you, Harry. But it was not your fault. Cedric Diggory was a brave, young man. He was as much a Shadowhunter as you and Ron, he knew what his calling, what his mission, was. He chose to fight at your side and he chose to go to that graveyard with you. And even if he hadn't died, the Death Eaters would have found a different victim to use as their sacrifice."
"Moony's right, kiddo", agreed Sirius, the hand on Harry's head slipping down to squeeze his shoulder. "You did what any honorable Shadowhunter in your decision would have done. Moony, your father and I, the three of us would have done the exact same thing."
Harry averted his eyes. He had often tried to picture it, but he couldn't quite. It had already been hard enough to wrap his head around his dads being werewolves – though he had gotten very used to it over the past ten years, Remus' large, brown wolf-form and Sirius' giant black wolf-form that looked more like a hell-hound than an actual wolf. That became the new image he had of his dads. And the more Harry learned about Shadowhunters, the harder he could imagine – Remus and Sirius as Shadowhunters, at the academy with Harry's biological parents. Sirius and James as parabatai, just like Ron and Harry. The thought of the bond breaking was devastating – to imagine Ron dying, the bond fading... Shaking his head, Harry tried to focus.
"What... do I do?", asked Harry softly, looking at Remus for guidance.
Sirius smiled over Harry's shoulder at his husband, while Remus contemplated what to say. "You do... what you've always done. The right thing. Follow your gut. The Clave may investigate you, but you are innocent. Malfoy's investigation will show that and, knowing that Voldemort is here and that the Death Eaters have returned, the Clave will have to back you up. Lead them."
"I'm not... I'm not a leader", argued Harry and made a face.
"Ron, Mione, Ginny, Neville and the twins may disagree with you there", chuckled Sirius. "Dean, Seamus, Cedric. You may not see yourself as a leader, but you... much like your father, you draw people in to follow you. It's why Voldemort sees you as a threat, because you're gathering a following of your own, one that opposes him directly."
Harry smiled thinly before opening his arms wide and accepting a hug from either side. "Thanks, dads. I don't know what I'd do without you."
"Anytime you need us", promised Remus, kissing Harry's temple.
/break\
"C'mon, Harry, you're gonna wanna see this", whispered Fred softly, tugging him along.
"Wait. Where... I wanted to go and spar with Ginny", argued Harry.
"Oh, Gin's too distracted by The Girlfriend", dismissed George. "So come!"
The Girlfriend? Harry furrowed his brows at that. What was Luna doing at the Institute? Back in the day, at the academy, Harry and Ginny had dated for a little while, but it hadn't lasted long. After their return to London, after they first met Luna Lovegood, Ginny soon found herself smitten in a way Harry and Ginny had never quite managed. They had gotten together because they were close friends and figured they could cross the line, but it hadn't quite worked that way. Ginny and Luna though? They had just... clicked. For a while, Ginny had tried to keep it from Harry, thinking it would be awkward considering their own history, but Harry was happy for his friend.
"Where are we even going and why is Luna at the Institute?", asked Harry concerned.
The twins rolled their eyes and tugged him along toward the vents and, knowing to trust them, Harry followed through the vents to what he knew to be the Weasleys' office. Both Arthur and Molly stood inside, looking concerned as they spoke with... Draco Malfoy.
"Now that you've concluded your investigation, I'm sure you're in a hurry to leave for Idris."
"Mrs. Weasley, I assure you, I am not in a hurry and I have no intentions of leaving."
"You... don't?", asked Arthur and made a face.
"No. With what I have concluded, I will, effective immediately, take over as head of the Institute", stated Draco seriously, staring at the couple. "From everything I've gathered, it can all be traced back to your loose leadership style. You cut your own children and their friends too much slack instead of keeping them in line and ensuring that rules are being followed. Now, if you'd leave my office so I can get settled in, I will leave it to you to tell them."
Arthur and Molly exchanged a shocked look, while Harry's head snapped up to stare at the twins. Oh. That was what they wanted to show him. Just great. His attention was drawn back to Molly and Arthur, him having an arm around her, less for support and more to keep her from straight-out jumping Draco in irritation. She had a lot of spirit, her husband was more the soft one there.
/break\
"I don't like this, I don't like this at all", muttered Neville and shook his head.
Next to him on the bed sat Ginny, her legs spread so Luna on the ground could sit between them and lean against her knee. Ginny was running gentle fingers through Luna's blonde strands while the warlock was twirling light blue magic around her wrist.
"I don't know", hummed Luna softly, forming a bunny out of her magic to hop around the room. "You only look at him as the envoy of the Clave. You should start looking at him as a Downworlder though. He is half-Seelie. It's in his interest, more so than any of you, to stop the Death Eaters. Have you considered not looking at him as an enemy but as a potential ally in all of this...?"
There was silence in which Harry and Hermione exchanged a surprised look while Ron continued his pacing, shaking his head at her theory. Ginny furrowed her brows and started braiding her girlfriend's hair, earning her a pleased little sound from Luna.
"I... actually haven't looked at it from that angle", admitted Harry slowly.
"And... he is not entirely wrong", started Hermione, receiving an utterly betrayed look from Ron. "Look, your parents do cut us far more slack than any boss should their employee."
Ron opened and closed his mouth, like he wanted to argue but genuinely couldn't. Harry sighed.
/break\
"Let me guess, you came to complain about me taking the position from the Weasleys too?"
Draco heaved a tired sigh as he looked up from his papers to see Harry Potter enter the room. The green-eyed Shadowhunter looked nearly sheepish as he shuffled in. Curious.
"I don't like that you took their jobs. I don't like the way you accused me and my friends. I don't like that the Clave prioritized investigating us over investigating the Death Eaters", started Harry slowly. "But... I want to stop them. I want to banish Voldemort, at all costs, and prevent what the Death Eaters want to accomplish, because my dads are Downworlders and one of my best friends is a Downworlder and there are so many innocent lives at stake here so if I have to play nice with you to get backup from the Clave, finally, then... I hope we can put our differences aside and work together to stop a common enemy, Malfoy."
Draco arched one curious eyebrow and tilted his head a little. "Finally, he sees reason."
"You're still a pain in the ass", muttered Harry and rolled his eyes.
"Likewise, Potter", chuckled Draco, the smallest smirk on his lips.
He wondered if Harry had needed someone else's push for it. Once Harry was out of the room, a fire-message reached Draco and, as he unfolded it, he smiled very amused. Looking forward to working with you, Seelie Prince – HWL. High Warlock of London. He figured that much.
/break\
"Why do you have to be so infuriating, Malfoy?!", asked Harry frustrated.
"Why must you be so reckless and stubborn, Potter?!", barked Draco out.
They were nearly chest to chest, eyes sparkling passionately. Hermione smiled bemused to herself as she watched them. Ever since they were actively working with Malfoy, Harry spent a lot of time complaining about him while also constantly going on missions with him and fighting side by side with the half-Seelie. The two spent so much time together and they were working really well. At least Hermione from her point of view thought so. Only that both clashed a lot, but their competitive nature actually made them work so well. They also flirted a lot – well, they bantered on the border of flirting. She wondered if they were even aware of the flirting.
"Man, I wish the two of you would just fuck to get this out of your system", sighed Fred.
"Yeah, seriously. I swear you can cut the sexual tension with a knife", snorted George.
"Ew. Ew. I can't stretch this enough, but ew", grunted Ron disturbed. "There's no way-"
Harry and Draco however just stared at the twins startled, eyes slowly widening and cheeks darkening. Ron turned and looked even more disturbed as he stared at his parabatai and their new head of the Institute. Hermione could practically see realization sinking in on both of them and it was highly amusing. This could be interesting. Interlacing her fingers with Ron's, she tugged.
"Come along, Weasleys, let's go", ordered Hermione, herding the twins and Ron out.
The only ones remaining in the weapons room, where they had gone to after their latest mission of snuffing out Death Eaters, were Draco and Harry. The half-Seelie's pointy ears were red as he glared furiously at Harry. Harry returned the look just as heatedly. The two edged on, but in a passionate, invigorating manner. Harry had never had a rival like that. They... made each other better by trying to outdo the other. Everything was a competition and yet they worked very well together. They were a good team, both throwing themselves into this with their all.
"Oh, screw this", huffed Draco and grabbed Harry by the neck, pulling him into a kiss.
Harry's eyes widened and his cheeks darkened even more before he grabbed the long, blonde hair, fingers entangling in them as he pulled Draco even closer. The half-Seelie gasped softly into the kiss, his lips swollen and pink as the two of them parted.
"This doesn't mean that I like you, Malfoy", grunted Harry pointedly.
"Yeah, well, I don't like you either, Potter", huffed Draco stubbornly.
"It also doesn't really mean that I dislike you", grumbled Harry after a brief moment.
That made Draco smile just a tiny bit. How amusing. His posture relaxed a little as he reached out to straighten his hair again. Harry watched the motion closely.
"I don't necessarily dislike you either", admitted Draco slowly. "You... fight well."
"You do too", offered Harry. "And... maybe... your leadership is improving us... a little bit."
"How gracious", snickered Draco and shook his head. "Okay, fine, I'll admit that you and your merry band of misfits were right all along and maybe if the Clave had listened to you earlier, we could have much more progress on this whole... mess."
Harry looked infinitely pleased by that. The two of them stared at each other for a very long moment in total silence. Just taking each other in. Both knew they fought well side by side. They were stronger together. And the kiss had been very – well, it had been very.
"So... what now?", asked Harry awkwardly, ruffling his own hair.
He decidedly didn't look at Draco, cheeks dusted pink. Draco rolled his eyes, though it was slightly fond. Oh no. He had grown attached to this bunch of idiots. The past two months of being at the London Institute had made him feel quite... at home. From a distance, as in when he wasn't the victim, he even found the twins' pranks amusing. He had shared a relatively civil conversation or two with Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom. Though he got along best with the High Warlock, there was something about the other Downworlder that made her easy company despite her slightly strange attics. And then there was Potter himself...
"It depends. Would you like to get it out of your system as your friends suggested, or...", drawled Draco and rolled his eyes, making a slight face. "Would you like to go on a date?"
How very mundane. Harry blinked slowly, as though he was trying to process that suggestion.
"Uhm... I... okay", nodded Harry, before he just leaned in and kissed Draco again.
Very well, perhaps that was worth the cheesy mundane behavior of dating...
~*~ The End ~*~
Author's note: HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY TO MY AMAZING WONDERFUL GIRLFRIEND! I wanted to give you something special so I figured I'd try to surprise you with one of your top OTPs, I do hope you like it! (Also the visual of Seelie!Draco? Yes? Yes.)